New York State Lawmaker Introduces Bill That Would Allow People To Post Bail With Fiat-Backed Stablecoins

A lawmaker in the Empire State just proposed new legislation that could expand the use cases of stablecoins.

On May 10th, New York State Democrat Latrice Walker introduced Assembly Bill 7024, which seeks to amend the criminal procedure law to authorize the use of dollar-pegged stablecoins as a form of payment for bail bonds.

Accepted payment methods for bail bonds currently include cash, insurance bonds and credit cards.

The bill says that state officials will promulgate the rules and regulations to determine which fiat-collateralized stablecoins can be accepted for posting bail. In case the value of the stablecoin drops, the court can request the posting of additional bail.

“If the court directs that bail be posted as provided in paragraph (j) of subdivision one of this section and the value of the stablecoins falls more than fifty percent from the value of the stablecoins at the time bail was posted, the court may, in its discretion, request the posting of additional bail as provided in subdivision one of this section.”

Walker introduced Assembly Bill 7024 just after New York Attorney General Letitia James proposed a law that aims to tighten the regulation of the crypto industry. According to James, the multi-billion-dollar industry lacks robust regulations.

“Rampant fraud and dysfunction have become the hallmarks of cryptocurrency and it is time to bring law and order to the multi-billion-dollar industry.

These commonsense regulations will bring more transparency and oversight to the industry and strengthen our ability to crack down on those that don’t pay respect to the law.”

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