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Senate bill would create regulatory pathway for network tokens, attract decentralized‑infrastructure businesses
Summary
Sen. Zolnikoff presented SB 265 to establish a regulatory framework for network tokens and decentralized protocols, including registration requirements and a prohibition on central bank digital currencies; wide industry testimony urged passage and committee members raised questions about membership and consumer protection.
Senator Daniel Zolnikoff introduced Senate Bill 265, a comprehensive bill to create a regulatory pathway for “network tokens” and related decentralized physical‑infrastructure networks (sometimes called DPIN or "Deepin" in testimony), and to clarify that certain network tokens are not securities under Montana law.
The sponsor said the bill aims to give legitimate projects a route to operate in the United States and to attract companies that otherwise incorporate offshore because of regulatory uncertainty. He described provisions that would require registration with the securities commissioner for projects claiming a non‑security exemption and that would require transparent disclosures (entity name, website, governance, token distribution, functionality and contact information).
Proponents from industry and the securities office urged support. Frank Cote, representing the commissioner of securities and insurance, said the commissioner wants Montana to be a leader in the space and had worked with the sponsor. Witnesses who testified remotely included Eric Peterson of Satoshi Action Fund and executives from companies such as Aether, Diode and others; those witnesses described network tokens as infrastructure tokens that pay participants for services (for example, file storage, GPU compute or EV‑charging services) and argued that regulatory clarity would bring jobs and investment to Montana.
Sponsor and witnesses gave examples and policy details: the sponsor said a prior Montana law allowed registration of utility tokens and that a sunset had created uncertainty; he said SB 265 would set a regulatory framework for “network tokens,” create an exemption process and permit digital assets to be accepted as payment for goods and services. The bill would also ban centralized banking digital currencies, the sponsor said, and includes a registration cap (sponsor cited a $250,000,000 cap per network‑token company in the hearing).
Committee members asked questions about consumer protection, conflicts of interest from industry representation in policy work, environmental/energy impacts and how token values are tied to services. Witnesses said token value is determined by market demand for the network’s service and offered examples such as decentralized file storage, distributed GPU compute networks and decentralized EV‑charging networks. The sponsor noted SB 265 passed the Senate 44–6 and asked the committee to move it forward.
