December 26, 2024
Crypto companies form Texas blockchain group to advocate for clear regulations

According to a September 11 announcement, a group of cryptocurrency and blockchain companies have banded together to create the Texas Cryptocurrency Advocacy Group. The group is called the Texas Crypto Freedom Alliance and was founded by a16z crypto, Coinbase, Ledger, Bain Capital Crypto, Blockchain Capital and Paradigm. The group is pushing for “coherent and predictable digital asset regulations in Texas.”

To further its goals, the Cryptocurrency Freedom Alliance will promote educational programs for government officials, businesses, nonprofits and other organizations to highlight the value of Web3 in Texas, the announcement said.

Cointelegraph met with a16z crypto’s global head of policy, Brian Quintenz, at the Permissionless II conference in Austin to learn more details about the new team. Quintenz said Texas is well-positioned to be a haven for Web3 developers, but it will require forming an advocacy group to address the state’s problems.

related: Riot Platforms says Texas energy strategy reduces production costs by $31 million

For example, Quintenz argued that decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs) often require legal jurisdiction to operate. Texas is an attractive state because it has adopted the Uniform Code of Unincorporated Associations.

“Amending unincorporated association laws to apply more broadly to limited liability type entities is a state issue, with only a handful of states adopting the Uniform Code of Unincorporated Associations (…Texas being one of them,” Quintenz express.

However, some small changes to this code need to be made to allow the DAO to be treated as a legal entity:

“One of the things we continue to try to do is advocate and educate about creating a legal entity for the DAO, making some changes to the unincorporated association framework, but making it more restrictive. We don’t want to just open it up to anyone and say ‘Oh, I is a DAO”. You only really qualify for that if you are a decentralized organization.”

Quintenz said that in addition to advocating for changes to the unincorporated association law, the group will also push for cryptocurrency-friendly tax laws, bank charter laws, and banking regulations. He sees Wyoming’s bank charter law as a “positive example” of what a cryptocurrency-friendly legislature can accomplish.

Texas is a popular cryptocurrency mining center in the United States, and most of Genesis Digital Assets’ CPUs are located in Texas. On July 3, cryptocurrency mining company Hut8 also moved 6,400 mining computers to the state.