PANews reported on March 7th that, according to The Block, the Florida Senate passed Senate Bill 314 on Thursday with 37 votes in favor and 0 against, paving the way for the state to establish a regulatory framework for the issuance of stablecoins. This bill, along with the accompanying House Bill 175, will be submitted to Governor Ron DeSantis for his signature within the next 30 days.
The bill, based on the federal GENIUS Act signed into law last July, covers consumer protection and financial stability guidelines. Key provisions include:
• Amend the Anti-Money Laundering Law for Financial Services Enterprises to bring stablecoins under regulatory oversight, requiring issuers to comply with existing rules and prohibiting unlicensed issuance.
• Clarify that certain payment stablecoins are not considered securities.
• Requires out-of-state qualified payment stablecoin issuers to submit written notification to the state's financial regulatory authority.
Some stablecoins are regulated solely by state OFRs, while others are jointly regulated with the federal OCC.
The bill prohibits stablecoin issuers from paying any form of interest to holders, provided that "such payments are prohibited by federal law." A complementary bill, CS/CS/SB 1440, was passed on the same day, expanding confidentiality protections for information of virtual currency companies, qualified payment stablecoin issuers, and other institutions to protect trade secrets and non-public information.
