Buttonwood SF Founder starts online petition against Californian bitcoin bill

An online petition has been started by John Light, the founder of Buttonwood SF, against the California legislative proposal 'AB-1326' that aims to regulate cryptocurrency businesses under the state's Money Transmission Act.

The bill would impose ban on the digital currency businesses from functioning unless they are approved by the Department of Business Oversight (DBO) or have received an exemption from the agency.

"I started this petition when I realised that AB-1326 would cause my meetup to shut down, since the legislation, if passed, would criminalise the cryptocurrency trading that takes place at the meetup", Light told CoinDesk.

The bill would require potential applicants to pay a non-refundable $5,000 fee for registration; provide identifying information; and maintain certain amount of funds in "investment-grade permissible investments".

"It costs $5000 just to apply for the license, to say nothing of the actual cost of the license itself and related compliance costs, which would price out all but the richest entrepreneurs and businesses that seek its protection and effectively put all of the traders at my meetup out of business," he explained.