New York proposes allowing stablecoins for bail bonds
New York state has proposed legislation to allow fiat-collateralized stablecoins to be used for bail bonds
New York state has proposed legislation to allow fiat-collateralized stablecoins to be used for bail bonds. The bill aims to amend current laws to add an additional payment method of fiat-collateralized stablecoins, in addition to cash, insurance and credit cards. However, it does not specify which stablecoins will be permitted. The proposed legislation follows a recent announcement by New York Attorney General Letitia James of new regulations for the crypto industry in the state, including independent public audits of cryptocurrency exchanges and restrictions on exchange-issued tokens.
The introduction of stablecoins for bail bonds could pave the way for other states to follow suit. However, the stablecoin ecosystem has been declining over the past year, with the total market capitalization of all stablecoins at around $131 billion, equivalent to roughly 11% of the total crypto market. Tether remains the market leader with a 62% share and $82 billion USDT in circulation, while Circle's USDC accounts for just 23% of the market with $30 billion in circulation. Binance USD (BUSD) has also been dwindling following regulatory action against its issuer Paxos, and now accounts for just 4.3% of the stablecoin market with a supply of $5.7 billion.
Despite the decline, the acceptance of stablecoins for bail bonds in New York is a positive development for the industry. However, the NYAG has been actively cracking down on crypto companies recently, with actions against Celsius, CoinEX, and KuCoin this year. Letitia James also opposed the Binance.US acquisition of Voyager, a crypto lending platform.
