Senate concurs with House amendments to H659, adopts one‑year moratorium on new bitcoin kiosks

The Senate concurred with House amendments to H659 and adopted further committee language that would place a moratorium on new virtual‑currency kiosks for one year while exempting kiosks already in operation.

The senator presenting the amendment said the bill originally included regulations and licensing provisions and that the House had brought forward a version that proposed a two‑year moratorium on all bitcoin machines. "The bill as it came to us had regulations... The bill came back to us with a 2 year moratorium for all Bitcoin machines," the presenter said, but the committee recommended a one‑year moratorium to give the Department of Financial Regulation (DFR) time to study the issue and learn from other states.

The amendment would allow existing kiosks to continue operating so owners who invested in the machines retain access to their funds and contractual commitments with retailers are not upset. The presenter said the committee could extend the moratorium after one year if DFR reports further need for time.

Senators asked whether the language covers all forms of virtual currency or only Bitcoin. A senator noted "your amendment covers all forms of virtual currency, the way it's written, not just Bitcoin?" and the presenter replied the moratorium covers the kiosks presently operating and is written to address operators rather than only one token.

The presiding officer then put the concurrence question; a voice vote produced 'ayes' and the Senate concurred with the House amendments and the committee's further proposed amendment.

What happens next: The House concurrence is recorded; DFR is expected to monitor kiosks and report as directed by the committee's amendment.