Two of Ohio’s top elected officials want to allow Ohioans to use cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, to pay for state services and fees.
Ohio Treasurer of State Robert Sprague and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose want the State Board of Deposit to pass a resolution designating cryptocurrency as an authorized “financial transaction device.” As proposed, state agencies could accept cryptocurrency through a payment processor designated by the state treasurer’s office.
Sprague is the chair of the State Board of Deposit, a three-member board comprising the state’s treasurer, auditor, and attorney general.
“The United States is becoming a global leader in the use of cryptocurrency and digital asset technology, and Ohio should be at the forefront of this emerging economy,” LaRose said in a release. “My office processes millions of dollars in business incorporation fees every year, and we should be able to accept payment for those services in cryptocurrency.”
Case Western Reserve University Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship’s Michael Goldberg described cryptocurrency to the Ohio Capital Journal as a “peer-to-peer digital currency, and it’s outside of an independent central governing authority.”
“Oftentimes with Bitcoin, there are less fees associated with it,” the publication quoted the professor as saying.
However, Catherine Turcer of Common Cause Ohio told the publication that cryptocurrency isn’t a safe payment method for state finances.
“It is electronic money, anything could happen to it,” the Ohio Capital Journal quoted Turcer as saying. “Whether it’s hacking, deflation — when you pay on April 15 your taxes, and it nosedives on the 16th — it’s just too volatile.”
According to reports, the Federal Bureau of Investigation found that Americans lost $9.3 billion to cryptocurrency fraud in 2024, a 66% increase from a year earlier. Regardless of what the critics say, Sprague and LaRose are all on board with exploring how to expand the use of cryptocurrency.
“Since the start of my administration, we’ve been working to modernize the Treasurer’s office and lay the groundwork for the future of public finance in Ohio,” Sprague said in a release. “Authorizing the use of cryptocurrency is just another way to keep up with current practices and we’re doing it the right way by bringing the matter before the Board of Deposit.”
The latest push for cryptocurrency isn’t the first time Ohio officials have toyed with the idea.
An earlier cryptocurrency payment program allowed Ohio businesses to pay their taxes via the OhioCrypto.com service. However, in 2019, Attorney General Dave Yost issued an opinion that the program did not follow the proper process and was not formally approved as a “financial transaction device” by the State Board of Deposit.
The program used an external vendor to convert cryptocurrency payments into U.S. dollars, charging the payers a fee. The vendor also guaranteed payment against fluctuations in cryptocurrency value during the transaction.
It was, therefore, suspended by the attorney general.
“I look forward to adopting a cryptocurrency payment policy that not only complies with Ohio law but also positions our state as a leader and innovator in the global economy,” Sprague added. “If we’re marketing our state as the place to do business, we need to be ready to do business at the pace of today’s technology.”
LaRose concurred, saying the Buckeye State “had the right goals at the time but the wrong process” and that passing a resolution will allow the state to create a mechanism to allow crypto legally.
“We now have guidance from the Attorney General on how to do this the right way, and we’re calling on the Board of Deposit to adopt a resolution that allows the state to set this policy in motion,” LaRose added. “I’ve long been a proponent of digital asset technologies, and my office stands ready to implement a cryptocurrency policy and begin accepting these payments immediately.”
