November 2, 2026

Capitalizations Index – B ∞/21M

Arizona Moves One Step Closer to Accepting Bitcoin for Taxes

Arizona moves one step closer to accepting bitcoin for taxes

Arizona Moves One Step Closer to Accepting Bitcoin for Taxes

Arizona moves one step closer to accepting bitcoin for taxes

The Arizona Senate has passed a bill that aims to allow residents in the state to pay their taxes with bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

As previously reported by CoinDesk, last month a group of lawmakers submitted a bill that, if passed, would enable taxpayers to use bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies in order to pay “tax and any interest and penalties” to the state’s Department of Revenue. The Department, in turn, would have 24 hours to convert those payments to U.S. dollars.

Public records show that the Senate passed the bill on Feb. 8 by a 16-13 margin, with one no-vote. The measure has since been sent to the state’s House of Representatives for further consideration.

While the measure’s success is contingent on both approval in that chamber, as well as any possible reconciliation required if the House and Senate ultimately pass different versions, the successful vote bodes well for its final passage. Late last month, lawmakers on the Senate’s Finance Committee cleared the bill by a 4-3 vote.

Arizona State Rep. Jeff Weninger, one of the co-sponsors of the bill and a sponsor himself of several related bills – including one submitted this week that, if approved, would block local and county regulation of blockchain nodes – recently told Fox News that the tax measure is aimed at making the state an accommodating place for users of the technology.

“It’s one of a litany of bills that we’re running that is sending a signal to everyone in the United States, and possibly throughout the world, that Arizona is going to be the place to be for blockchain and digital currency technology in the future,” he told the news service.

Bitcoin and dollars image via Shutterstock

The leader in blockchain news, CoinDesk is an independent media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. Have breaking news or a story tip to send to our journalists? Contact us at news@coindesk.com.

Published at Fri, 09 Feb 2018 16:30:52 +0000

Regulation[wpr5_ebay kw=”bitcoin” num=”1″ ebcat=”” cid=”5338043562″ lang=”en-US” country=”0″ sort=”bestmatch”]

Previous Article

Russian National Arrested For Cyber Crime In Bangkok, Allegedly Had $8.2 Mln in BTC

Next Article

French, German Finance Ministers Call for G20 Crypto Discussion

You might be interested in …

Cyber-Security Hero Who Stopped WannaCry Attack Arrested in Las Vegas

Marcus Hutchins, the British security researcher who aided ailing Wannacry malware victims, including the UK’s National Health Service, arrested by the FBI in Las Vegas.


The security researcher who stopped the Wannacry malware attack by registering an internet domain that the malware communicated with has reportedly been arrested at an airport. According to emerging reports, Hutchins was arrested in Las Vegas as he was leaving the country after attending the Blackhat and Def Con conventions which are held annually for security researchers.

Friends of Hutchins who were with him at the conventions say they do not know his whereabouts and have not heard from him for 18 hours. The US Department of Justice, however, released the following statement:

Marcus Hutchins… a citizen and resident of the United Kingdom, was arrested in the United States on 2 August 2017, in Las Vegas, Nevada, after a grand jury in the Eastern District of Wisconsin returned a six-count indictment against Hutchins for his role in creating and distributing the Kronos banking Trojan.

Confusion and Coincidence Amid Arrest Details

Members of both cryptocurrency and cyber security communities have taken to Twitter to express their disbelief and confusion:

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Others were quick to rush to the 23-year-old security researcher’s defense:

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Motherboard was the first to break the story, where there still seemed to be confusion about quite what had happened. In an e-mail to the publication, a U.S. Marshals spokesperson stated:

My colleague in Las Vegas says this was an FBI arrest. Mr. Hutchins is not in U.S. Marshals custody.

Ironically, hours after Hutchins was arrested, more than $130,000 worth of the bitcoin ransom taken by the creators of WannaCry appear to have been tumbled through a mixer for withdrawal. This marks the first movement of the coins on the bitcoin network since the attack.

It is important to note that there is absolutely nothing to suggest that the withdrawal is in any way connected to Hutchins’ arrest.

 

The Kronos Malware

Bitcoin Wallet Malware

The Kronos malware was spread through emails with malicious attachments, hijacking credentials such as internet banking passwords and other such sensitive information. Malware such as Kronos and Wannacry are increasingly getting media attention and look set to be at record numbers in 2017 if statistics released by antivirus companies are to be believed.

What are your thoughts on this? Is Marcus Hutchins’ arrest possibly only a case of guilt by association? Let us know in the comments below.


Images courtesy of Shutterstock

The post Cyber-Security Hero Who Stopped WannaCry Attack Arrested in Las Vegas appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.