House committee reviews Senate changes to H137 that add consumer protections for cryptocurrency kiosks

The Vermont House Committee on Commerce and Economic Development on May 6 reviewed amendments the Senate made to H137 that add consumer-protection requirements for virtual currency (cryptocurrency) kiosks and extend the existing moratorium on new kiosks for another year.

Maria Royal, legislative counsel, told the committee the Senate-passed version of H137 keeps many of the disclosure and receipt requirements the committee previously considered and adds or modifies several items, including a broadened definition of “new customer,” expanded refund and reporting timelines, and higher per-day transaction limits. "New customer ... means somebody who has only been transacting for not more than 30 days," Royal said. She summarized that the bill would increase the daily transaction limit to $2,000 for new customers and $5,000 for existing customers, require retainable receipts and photographs taken at the kiosk, and require operators to retain a third party that performs blockchain analytics to assist anti-fraud efforts.

Why it matters: The changes would apply only to operators that existed before the moratorium (Royal said she believed two kiosks currently operate in Vermont) and would set statewide consumer-protection standards covering disclosures, receipts, identification and fraud controls.

Key provisions and discussion

Definitions and disclosures: Royal said the bill retains…