Florida Governor Ron DeSantis officially proposed that the state government allow companies to pay state fees with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC).
The Republican governor announced the idea as part of his 2022-2023 budget proposal, published on December 9.
Based on official budget highlights, DeSantis proposed providing $ 200,000 to the Department of Financial Services to offer Florida corporations the ability to “pay state fees via cryptocurrency directly to the State Department.”
“Florida encourages cryptocurrency as a medium of commerce and fosters Florida’s attractiveness for business and economic growth,” the document reads.
DeSantis further proposed allocating another $ 500,000 to explore the potential of blockchain technology to maintain motor vehicle records, as well as authenticate Medicaid transactions and detect potential fraud.
The blanket proposal of $ 700,000 is dedicated to enabling a crypto-friendly Florida, the budget proposal reads.
Florida has been steadily emerging as one of the top crypto-friendly jurisdictions in the United States, as one of its major cities, Miami, is actively promoting itself as the “Bitcoin and cryptocurrency capital of the world.”
Related:Browsing CityCoins: Miami citizens will earn Bitcoin even though the city has no cryptocurrencies
Last month, Miami Mayor Francis Suárez announced that he aspired to be the first American lawmaker to accept part of his paycheck in Bitcoin. The official reportedly owns both BTC and Ether (ETH).
In September, Miami city commissioners voted to accept the funds generated by the new cryptocurrency MiamiCoin, which was launched by the smart contracts protocol CityCoins in August. Having generated more than $ 21 million in returns in mid-November, MiamiCoin will be available to all Miami residents in the form of a Bitcoin dividend, according to the city’s mayor.