Bill > HCR115

This Concurrent Resolution requests that the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs' Division of Financial Institutions and the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation extend the Digital Currency Innovation Lab (DCIL) pilot project, a program designed to allow digital currency companies to operate under a more flexible regulatory framework than existing money transmitter laws, until June 30, 2024, or until new legislation is passed to create a specific licensing program for digital currencies, whichever happens sooner. The resolution acknowledges the growing popularity of digital currency, which is defined as digital money managed and exchanged online and not typically backed by governments, and notes that the DCIL was created because existing regulations were too burdensome for these companies. The extension is sought because the Legislature has not yet enacted laws to either exempt digital currency companies from current money transmitter rules or establish a new regulatory system, and without the extension, consumers using these services would be forced to close their digital wallets.