According to a Wall Street Journal report, the state will become the first to accept taxes paid with Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital currency. Ohio will begin accepting Bitcoin payments from this week.

The idea of allowing taxes to be paid with cryptocurrencies – digital currencies which use cryptography to secure and verify transactions and to create new units – has been floated in the US for several months. Lawmakers from Illinois, Georgia and Arizona discussed the possibility earlier this year, although these attempts have so far stalled or failed to progress to law.

Starting this week in Ohio, businesses will be able to pay some taxes in Bitcoin, including tobacco sales tax and public utilities tax.

Businesses submitting taxes using cryptocurrency must register with the Office of the Ohio Treasurer using a dedicated government-run website, on which they can enter details of the taxation and pay their dues using a cryptocurrency wallet compatible with the Bitcoin Payment Protocol. The Bitcoins will then be converted into dollars by BitPay for submission to the office of the Ohio Treasurer. A small fee is charged to confirm each transaction.

“We are proud to make Ohio the first state in the nation to accept tax payments via cryptocurrency,” said Josh Mandel, the Ohio Treasurer. “We are doing this to provide Ohioans more options and ease in paying their taxes and also to project Ohio’s leadership in embracing blockchain technology.”

The option to pay state taxes in cryptocurrency is expected to be rolled out to individuals in the near future, as well as expanding to include other cryptocurrencies.

Ohio has been positioning itself as a friendly state for tech innovation, including in blockchain technology. In August, legislators passed a law legally recognising blockchain data and smart contracts as electronic records, with signatures secured through blockchain technology legally recognised as a form of electronic signature.

This week, Bitcoin’s value has plunged below $3,500 per coin, following the sharpest weekly drop in its value since 2013, according to Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp. The latest drop takes the popular cryptocurrency to less than a fifth of its high of almost $20,000 in December 2017, with Bitcoin suffering from fading hype, discussion of regulation around the world and growing concern about its environmental impact.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the state will become the first to accept taxes paid with Bitcoin, the world’s largest digital currency. Ohio will begin accepting Bitcoin payments from this week.

The idea of allowing taxes to be paid with cryptocurrencies – digital currencies which use cryptography to secure and verify transactions and to create new units – has been floated in the US for several months. Lawmakers from Illinois, Georgia and Arizona discussed the possibility earlier this year, although these attempts have so far stalled or failed to progress to law.

Starting this week in Ohio, businesses will be able to pay some taxes in Bitcoin, including tobacco sales tax and public utilities tax.

Businesses submitting taxes using cryptocurrency must register with the Office of the Ohio Treasurer using a dedicated government-run website, on which they can enter details of the taxation and pay their dues using a cryptocurrency wallet compatible with the Bitcoin Payment Protocol. The Bitcoins will then be converted into dollars by BitPay for submission to the office of the Ohio Treasurer. A small fee is charged to confirm each transaction.

“We are proud to make Ohio the first state in the nation to accept tax payments via cryptocurrency,” said Josh Mandel, the Ohio Treasurer. “We are doing this to provide Ohioans more options and ease in paying their taxes and also to project Ohio’s leadership in embracing blockchain technology.”

The option to pay state taxes in cryptocurrency is expected to be rolled out to individuals in the near future, as well as expanding to include other cryptocurrencies.

Ohio has been positioning itself as a friendly state for tech innovation, including in blockchain technology. In August, legislators passed a law legally recognising blockchain data and smart contracts as electronic records, with signatures secured through blockchain technology legally recognised as a form of electronic signature.

This week, Bitcoin’s value has plunged below $3,500 per coin, following the sharpest weekly drop in its value since 2013, according to Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp. The latest drop takes the popular cryptocurrency to less than a fifth of its high of almost $20,000 in December 2017, with Bitcoin suffering from fading hype, discussion of regulation around the world and growing concern about its environmental impact.