tl;dr
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker criticized former President Trump for minimal federal crypto oversight as he signed two bills regulating cryptocurrency in Illinois. The Digital Assets and Consumer Protection Act empowers state regulators to oversee digital asset businesses, enforcing financial and cyb...
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker criticized US President Donald Trump for leaving "crypto bros" to shape federal policy as he signed two bills regulating cryptocurrency in Illinois. Pritzker emphasized that while the Trump administration allowed minimal oversight, Illinois is adopting common-sense protections for investors and consumers.
The state's approach contrasts with more crypto-friendly states like Texas and Arizona, reflecting ideological divides following the recent elections. The first bill, the Digital Assets and Consumer Protection Act (SB 1797), empowers the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation to oversee digital asset exchanges and businesses, enforcing requirements such as maintaining financial resources, cybersecurity safeguards, and investment disclosures modeled on traditional finance standards.
Pritzker highlighted the importance of these rules amid escalating fraud and diminishing federal consumer protections, signaling Illinois' commitment to prevent exploitation of residents' assets. Complementing this, the Digital Asset Kiosk Act (SB 2319) mandates registration of cryptocurrency kiosks or ATMs, limits transaction fees to 18%, caps daily transactions at $2,500 for new customers, and requires full refunds for scam victims.
Representative Edgar Gonzalez Jr. underlined the necessity for consistent regulatory safeguards across financial services. This urgency is underscored by Illinois’ ranking as the fifth-highest state for crypto fraud losses in 2024, totaling about $272 million according to FBI data.
The governor’s office continued to attack the Trump administration’s crypto approach, blaming it for deregulation that increased risks of consumer fraud. A pointed example was the rollback of an IRS rule expanding the broker definition to include decentralized finance exchanges, which was reversed under Trump’s tenure.
In earlier developments, Illinois rejected a bill proposing a strategic Bitcoin reserve for the state treasury, introduced by Representative John Cabello. The concept to hold Bitcoin for five years failed at the committee level, signaling a cautious stance despite the growing interest in cryptocurrency as a state asset.