Yolanda Wilson

This is one of the most anti-crypto laws in the U.S. It taxes the exchange, transfer, or storage of digital assets—you buy BTC, you pay a tax; you hold your BTC on Coinbase, you pay a tax; and so on. There is effectively no comparable state financial transaction tax on stocks, bonds, or derivatives anywhere in the country. That means crypto is being singled out in violation of several federal laws. Further, the approach makes little sense—you aren’t taxed if you exchange a stock, bond, or derivative in paper form, but you are taxed if they happen to be recorded on a blockchain? That’s like taxing email. So, rather than embracing innovation and the cost efficiencies blockchains can deliver for ordinary people in Illinois, the state is poised to punish its entrepreneurs and citizens that want to use crypto. This is a shame—it was only just recently that Illinois embraced a constructive approach to blockchain technology through the adoption of the effectively-scoped Digital Assets and Consumer Protection Act. This new tax is a complete 180. When states adopt discriminatory, asset-specific taxes that drive builders and users elsewhere, we all lose.