Bitcoin Is Actually Illegal In California, But That Could Change Soon

BTC Keychain

Thanks to one of those bizarre laws that's outlasted its usefulness, Bitcoin has technically been illegal in the state of California since the 1870s. Now, California Gov. Jerry Brown could fix that by signing a single bill, the San Francisco Business Times reports.

Assemblyman Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) wrote the bill that would legalize not just Bitcoin, but all forms of alternative and digital currency, from cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and Dogecoin to rewards points like Starbucks Stars and Amazon Coins, the San Francisco Business Times reports.

The bill stemmed from the state of California filing of a cease-and-desist order against the Bitcoin Foundation in May 2013, Bitcoin Magazine reported. Soon after talk of reform came to the California Legislature and the bill was written and passed.

Now all it needs is Brown's signature, according to Coindesk.

"I saw this legislation as a ways of cleaning up the code in California to conform to reality," Dickinson told the San Francisco Business Times. Dickinson isn't quite a supporter of Bitcoin, who told the publication he thinks the federal government should regulate the cryptocurrency.

Earlier this year New York State started considerations for opening itself up to Bitcoin exchanges, CBS News reports. For California and Silicon Valley to compete with the Empire State legalizing Bitcoin and its fellow digital currencies is certainly the first step.