U.S. Regulation

California Passes Bill to Seize Unclaimed Bitcoin and Crypto

The California State Assembly has passed Assembly Bill (AB) 1052 with a 69-0 vote that mandates the state to seize Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies left unclaimed for 3 years. Now, the Senate will vote on the bill. Introduced by Democrat member Avelino Valencia, the bill includes digital assets, including virtual currencies, cryptocurrencies, or other digital-only assets in the already existing list of traditional assets such as bank accounts and safe deposits within the legal framework.

To put it simply, the bill, once passed, allows the state of California to seize cryptocurrencies left unclaimed on exchanges for 3 years, which can then be claimed by their owners. Notably, the bill earlier mentioned crypto self-custody provisions which have been deleted. AB 1052 is the latest crypto-related bill to see progress in the California State Assembly. Only recently, the assembly unanimously passed AB 1180 on June 2.

AB 1180 is another crypto-related bill that allows state agencies to accept crypto payments. If the Senate also passes the bill and it becomes the law, it will require the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) to formulate rules to allow crypto payments under the Digital Financial Assets Law (DFAL). AB 1180 could come into force as early as July 1, 2026, and run as a pilot until January 1, 2031. It could then be fully implemented. California finds company among states such as WyomingFlorida, Texas, and New Hampshire that are proactively pursuing crypto regulation.

Terron Gold

Recent Posts

Cypherpunk Launches World’s Largest Zcash Mining Fleet in $33 Million Winklevoss Deal

Cypherpunk Technologies is expanding its massive bet on Zcash by launching what it calls the…

5 days ago

MapleStory Universe Launches AI Game Jam With $15,000 in NXPC Prizes

MapleStory Universe is putting artificial intelligence in the hands of game creators with the launch…

5 days ago

Kalshi Pushes Beyond Prediction Markets With Copper Perpetual Future Filing With CFTC

Kalshi is making another major move beyond prediction markets, filing with the Commodity Futures Trading…

6 days ago

Coinbase Brings 50x Crypto Perpetual Trading to Base App Through Hyperliquid

Coinbase is bringing high-leverage decentralized derivatives directly into its Base App through an integration with…

6 days ago

Hong Kong Puts First Regulated Stablecoin to Work in Insurance and $49 Billion UAE Trade Market

Hong Kong's first regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin is moving beyond testing and into real-world…

6 days ago

Fake Trezor, Ledger and Exodus Apps Target Crypto Users in Massive Seed Phrase Scam

Cybersecurity researchers at Rapid7 have uncovered a sophisticated crypto fraud operation that used nearly 885,000…

7 days ago