New York vs. Ohio, the Tale of Two Regulatory Frameworks

The spectrum ranges from conservative New York to progressive Ohio.

New York has taken a stricter, more controversial stance towards blockchain projects while states like Ohio have adopted much more encouraging policy.

New York City is home to Wall Street, the financial capital of the world.

To that end, New York implemented the BitLicense, a regulatory framework that aims to provide consumer protection for blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.

The primary source of discontent with the BitLicense stems from its hope to provide "Consumer protection" via a system that would enforce know your customer rules on cryptocurrency companies with customers in New York.

This creates a barrier of entry for any new blockchain projects in New York.Progressive Ohio.

Cleveland, Ohio's second largest city, is less than two hours away from New York's southwest border and has been taking a very opposite approach to the blockchain.

State Senator Matt Dolan has sponsored a bill which eventually led to Ohio legally recognizing data on blockchains.

On the other hand, New York is not alone in using strict regulation to control the blockchain industry.

Although these two approaches run counter to each other, they also present the other 48 states with precedent on how to manage crypto and blockchain technology.