Rhode Island 2025 Regular Session

Rhode Island House Bill H5636 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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5	5	2025 -- H 5636
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7	7	LC000509
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9	9	S T A T E O F R H O D E I S L A N D
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS -- CURRENCY TRANSMISSIO NS
16	16	Introduced By: Representatives Kennedy, Azzinaro, Edwards, Solomon, O'Brien,
17	17	Kazarian, and Diaz
18	18	Date Introduced: February 26, 2025
19	19	Referred To: House Innovation, Internet, & Technology
20	20
21	21
22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Section 19-14.3-1.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 19-14.3 entitled 1
24	24	"Currency Transmissions" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
25	25	19-14.3-1.1. Definitions. 3
26	26	In addition to the definitions provided in § 19-14-1 the following definitions are applicable 4
27	27	to this chapter: 5
28	28	(1) “Control” means: 6
29	29	(i) When used in reference to a transaction or relationship involving virtual currency, the 7
30	30	power to execute unilaterally or prevent indefinitely a virtual currency transaction; and 8
31	31	(ii) When used in reference to a person, the direct or indirect power to direct the 9
32	32	management, operations, or policies of the person through legal or beneficial ownership of twenty-10
33	33	five percent (25%) or more of the voting power in the person or under a contract, arrangement, or 11
34	34	understanding. 12
35	35	(2) “Department” means the department of business regulation, division of banking. 13
36	36	(3) “Exchange,” used as a verb, means to assume control of virtual currency from or on 14
37	37	behalf of a resident, at least momentarily, to sell, trade, or convert: 15
38	38	(i) Virtual currency for legal tender, bank credit, or one or more forms of virtual currency; 16
39	39	or 17
40	40	(ii) Legal tender or bank credit for one or more forms of virtual currency. 18
41	41	(4) “Legal tender” means a medium of exchange or unit of value, including the coin or 19
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45	45	paper money of the United States, issued by the United States or by another government. 1
46	46	(5) “Licensee” means a person licensed under this chapter. 2
47	47	(6) “Monetary value” means a medium of exchange, whether or not redeemable in money. 3
48	48	(7) “Reciprocity agreement” means an arrangement between the department and the 4
49	49	appropriate licensing agency of another state that permits a licensee operating under a license 5
50	50	granted by the other state to engage in currency transmission business activity with or on behalf of 6
51	51	a resident. 7
52	52	(8) “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in 8
53	53	an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form. 9
54	54	(9) “Registry” means the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System. 10
55	55	(10) “Resident”: 11
56	56	(i) Means a person that: 12
57	57	(A) Is domiciled in this state; 13
58	58	(B) Is physically located in this state for more than one hundred eighty-three (183) days of 14
59	59	the previous three hundred sixty-five (365) days; or 15
60	60	(C) Has a place of business in this state; and 16
61	61	(ii) Includes a legal representative of a person that satisfies subsection (10)(i) of this 17
62	62	section. 18
63	63	(11) “Responsible individual” means an individual who has managerial authority with 19
64	64	respect to a licensee’s currency transmission business activity with or on behalf of a resident. 20
65	65	(12) “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record: 21
66	66	(i) To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or 22
67	67	(ii) To attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or 23
68	68	process. 24
69	69	(13) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the 25
70	70	United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the 26
71	71	United States. 27
72	72	(14) “Store,” except in the phrase “store of value,” means to maintain control of virtual 28
73	73	currency on behalf of a resident by a person other than the resident. “Storage” and “storing” have 29
74	74	corresponding meanings. 30
75	75	(15) “Transfer” means to assume control of virtual currency from or on behalf of a resident 31
76	76	and to: 32
77	77	(i) Credit the virtual currency to the account of another person; 33
78	78	(ii) Move the virtual currency from one account of a resident to another account of the 34
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82	82	same resident; or 1
83	83	(iii) Relinquish control of virtual currency to another person. 2
84	84	(16) “U.S. Dollar equivalent of virtual currency” means the equivalent value of a particular 3
85	85	virtual currency in United States dollars shown on a virtual currency exchange based in the United 4
86	86	States for a particular date or period specified in this chapter. 5
87	87	(17) “Virtual currency business activity” means: 6
88	88	(i) Exchanging, transferring, or storing virtual currency whether directly or through an 7
89	89	agreement with a virtual currency control-services vendor; 8
90	90	(ii) Holding electronic precious metals or electronic certificates representing interests in 9
91	91	precious metals on behalf of another person or issuing shares or electronic certificates representing 10
92	92	interests in precious metals; or 11
93	93	(iii) Exchanging one or more digital representations of value used within one or more 12
94	94	online games, game platforms, or family of games for: 13
95	95	(A) Virtual currency offered by or on behalf of the same publisher from which the original 14
96	96	digital representation of value was received; or 15
97	97	(B) Legal tender or bank credit outside the online game, game platform, or family of games 16
98	98	offered by or on behalf of the same publisher from which the original digital representation of value 17
99	99	was received. 18
100	100	(18) “Virtual currency control-services vendor” means a person who has control of virtual 19
101	101	currency solely under an agreement with a person who, on behalf of another person, assumes 20
102	102	control of virtual currency. 21
103	103	(19) "Virtual currency kiosk" means an electronic terminal acting as a mechanical agent of 22
104	104	the owner or operator to enable the owner or operator to facilitate the exchange of virtual currency 23
105	105	for fiat currency or other virtual currency including, but not limited to, by: 24
106	106	(i) Connecting directly to a separate virtual currency exchanger that performs the actual 25
107	107	virtual currency transmission; or 26
108	108	(ii) Drawing upon the virtual currency in the possession of the owner or operator of the 27
109	109	electronic terminal. 28
110	110	SECTION 2. Chapter 19-14.3 of the General Laws entitled "Currency Transmissions" is 29
111	111	hereby amended by adding thereto the following section: 30
112	112	19-14.3-3.9. Virtual currency kiosk -- Receipts required. 31
113	113	On or after January 1, 2026, any person who owns, operates, solicits, markets, advertises, 32
114	114	or facilitates virtual currency kiosks in this state shall provide customers of the virtual currency 33
115	115	kiosk with an option to receive a paper receipt, or electronic receipt, or both detailing the virtual 34
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119	119	currency kiosk transaction. The receipt required by this section shall include any: 1
120	120	(i) Public virtual currency wallet addresses; 2
121	121	(ii) The full name of the account owner; 3
122	122	(iii) Unique transaction identifiers; and 4
123	123	(iv) Statements regarding the company fraud victim refund policy. 5
124	124	(b) In addition to mandatory paper receipts required pursuant to subsection (a) of this 6
125	125	section, virtual currency kiosk operators shall provide electronic copies of virtual currency kiosk 7
126	126	transactions to the customers email address or record with the operator of the virtual currency kiosk. 8
127	127	(c) Virtual currency kiosks unable to provide paper receipts at the time of the transactions 9
128	128	shall be disabled by the operator to prevent the processing of any virtual currency transaction 10
129	129	without a paper receipt. 11
130	130	SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 12
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137	137	EXPLANATION
138	138	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
139	139	OF
140	140	A N A C T
141	141	RELATING TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS -- CURRENCY TRANSMISSION S
142	142	***
143	143	This act would provide that operators of virtual currency kiosks must provide customers 1
144	144	with a paper receipt, electronic receipt, or both of the transaction. 2
145	145	This act would take effect upon passage. 3
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