By Susie Violet Ward · Forbes · 15 May 2024
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill protecting bitcoin and digital asset rights on 13 May 2024, with the law scheduled at the time to take effect on 1 November 2024. Championed by Representative Samuel Brian Hill and Senator Coleman, it protects the right to self-custody, allows digital assets to be used for payments without additional taxes, and protects bitcoin mining at home and commercially, including from local measures specifically targeting mining and from discriminatory utility rate schedules.
The bill was based on model policy from the Satoshi Action Fund. Its CEO, Dennis Porter, said Oklahoma was the first state to pass this law, after slimmed-down versions passed in Montana and Arkansas in 2023, and hoped it would become a blueprint for other states. The Oklahoma Bitcoin Association, led by Storm Rund, and Eric Peterson of the Satoshi Action Fund also campaigned for the bill.