New Law Allows Gold and Silver Transactions

What we define as money is changing. The 1-cent coin appears to be on its way out, but specie money is once more becoming relevant. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed HB999, a state law that makes it legal to use gold and silver coins as lawful payment for just about anything in that state. According to the governor, “this legislation will authorize money services businesses like check cashers or PayPal to transmit and accept payment in gold and silver.” Florida can’t mint its own coins under Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, but HB999 will make qualifying legal tender gold and silver coins exempt from Florida’s sales tax. It will also permit them to be able to pay government agencies using electronic transfers or debit cards. Just when specie is making headlines in Florida, crypto tokens are being given a warning by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce recently made it clear that the agency does not deem most meme coins to be securities or to be under federal law. Peirce said that it is the same as non-fungible tokens; they aren’t securities, cautioning, “You can package almost anything into a securities transaction. But generally, it’s good for people to know, I should not be looking to the SEC for protection in this area.” Maybe you can package anything into a securities transaction. New York is making its own rules for virtual currencies. The New York State Department of Financial Services has been granting numerous virtual currency licenses and charters while stating that this will ensure that New Yorkers have a well-regulated way to access the virtual currency marketplace and that New York remains at the center of technological innovation and forward-looking regulation. Money is no longer just nickels and dimes.