California Advances Bill on Unclaimed Crypto and Merchant Payments

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California’s State Assembly has unanimously approved a bill that would regulate cryptocurrency payments and enable the state to seize inactive crypto holdings from exchanges after three years of dormancy.

Passed on June 3 with a 78-0 vote, Assembly Bill (AB) 1052 subjects digital assets to California’s unclaimed property laws. Under the bill, the state can claim crypto held in a user’s exchange account if no “act of ownership interest” has been recorded for three years.

Qualifying actions include executing transactions (such as buying or selling), depositing or withdrawing funds, logging into the account, or any other activity that clearly indicates the owner is aware of the asset’s existence.