Ohio’s State Government Now Accepts BTC and BCH Payments Serviced By BitPay

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The state government of Ohio has just made a move that will change the game for cryptocurrencies for the better. According to a recent announcement, payments can now be made with BTC and BCH via the government’s payment portal. The report from CCN is as follows:

“The state of Ohio is going to become the first in the United States to accept tax payments in BTC. This is according to a report on Wall Street Journal. Starting from this week, businesses that want to make tax settlements using Bitcoins or Bitcoin Cash can do so via the official website. All you’ll have to do is register to pay your corporate taxes in BTC. To make this possible, the Ohio state government has partnered with BitPay, the popular cryptocurrency payment processor, to convert these cryptocurrencies to dollars on behalf of the tax office.”

What Does This Mean For Bitcoin And The Industry As A Whole?

Since the inception of the cryptocurrency industry, BTC has never been truly regarded as a currency. So, it could not be used to pay taxes. This is why it is typically regulated as an asset class or security. BTC as an asset can’t be used to pay taxes just like stocks or gold can’t be used to pay taxes. So, the fact that the state government of Ohio has decided to accept BTC tax payments means that it considers it a cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Today – BTC / USD

NamePrice24H %
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For starters, the cryptocurrency industry is still not mature enough for a move like this to occur on a global scale. Whether or not experts want to admit it, the industry still has a lot of work to do. Even if owners of cryptocurrencies in Ohio can now easily pay their taxes with BTC, this may not directly mean that the entire state now accepts BTC as a currency. How so? A currency is a legal tender that can be used to purchase goods and services within a region. Right now, the use of BTC as a legal tender in Ohio is still limited.

BTC will only be a strong competition to cryptocurrencies if it accepted as a legal tender for virtually everything from utility bills to house rent. So, in reality, BTC still hasn’t passed the means test for the definition of a currency. To pass as a currency, the means test demands that the tender must be controlled by a central authority among other requirements. The Ohio’s state government is not different from many other governments within the EU that are making moves to attract Bitcoin holders. However, as long as BTC continues to be decentralized, it may never become a currency. This doesn’t mean it doesn’t have what it takes to render fiat money useless. With the right awareness and adoption, cryptocurrencies have the capacity to render government issued currencies useless.

Even if the move by Ohio’s state government doesn’t necessarily mean BTC is considered a currency, it is still going to strengthen BTCs superiority as a method of payment. BTC will become a popular option for paying taxes because it attracts less processing fees compared to fiat payments. The move by the government is the beginning of what will eventually become a global acceptance of BTC.

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