Bitcoin Service Harborly Moves to Texas for Favorable Bitcoin Environment
Harborly , a service that lets customers buy and sell bitcoins using their local currency, has decided to base its U.S. headquarters in Texas due to the state’s favorable environment for Bitcoin companies.
Also read: Texas Congressman Steve Stockman Introduces HR 5777: “To Protect Cryptocurrencies”
Texas Has a Favorable Regulatory Environment for Bitcoin Companies
Choosing a national headquarters is a major decision for a startup. The company must consider a variety of factors, including investor networks and the regulatory environment.This decision can be especially difficult for Bitcoin companies as the regulatory environment is murky in most places and worrisome in others.
Harborly–who is preparing to launch its Bitcoin purchase service for U.S. residents–says Texas has a favorable regulatory environment for Bitcoin companies. Making the announcement in a blog post titled “Harborly is Moving to Texas Y’all!,” the company said the political and regulatory environment in Texas is great for crypto-based companies.
Generally, Texas’ political outlook shares much in common with that of the Bitcoin community and as the Harborly team continues to review options for a U.S. launch and examine Bitcoin solutions for the remittance space, being based here simply makes sense.
Specifically, Harborly noted that both Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Representative Steve Stockman support Bitcoin. Stockman, notably, introduced a Congressional bill designed to “protect cryptocurrencies” from government intervention. Moreover, the Libertarian Party of Texas recently began accepting Bitcoin donations.
Bitcoin Regulation in the U.S.
Although Bitcoin entrepreneurship has exploded over the past two years, state governments have been slow to clarify their positions on cryptocurrency. California, for instance, recently became the first state to “legally approve” the use of Bitcoin. Elsewhere, New York’s controversial “BitLicense” proposal seeks to regulate Bitcoin companies.
But in most places, the regulation situation remains murky. Numerous debates abound about whether or not–and if so, how–governments should regulate Bitcoin. Recognizing the importance of favorable regulations to the Bitcoin industry, public policy research service Coin Center recently launched to help the Bitcoin community cope with the uncertain regulatory environment.
Images from Harborly and Shutterstock.
