Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Eyes State Stablecoin Framework Following Senate Passage

In brief

• The Florida State Senate passed Senate Bill 314 unanimously on Friday, positioning Florida to join other states with local stablecoin regulations.
• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis plans to review the legislation in its final form once it’s “delivered to his desk,” a spokesperson told Decrypt.
• The bill folds stablecoins into Florida’s existing anti-money laundering laws by defining them as a form of “monetary value.”

Florida moved closer to becoming the latest U.S. state to enact stablecoin rules at the local level, following the State Senate’s passage of Senate Bill 314 on Friday. Sam Armes, founder and President of the Florida Blockchain Business Association, described Senate Bill 314’s passage as a historic moment on X. He believes the bill will be signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a crypto advocate, within the next 30 days. A spokesperson for DeSantis told Decrypt that the governor has not yet received the bill from the legislature. “Once delivered to his office, he will review it in its final form,” she added.

The measure, which passed unanimously on Friday, folds stablecoins into the Sunshine State’s existing regulations by explicitly defining them as a form of “monetary value” under the Florida Control of Money Laundering in Money Services Business Act.  The legislation meanwhile authorizes the Florida Department of Financial Services to accept approved stablecoins for payments, such as state-issued licenses and taxes, alongside a pilot program to study how the government could utilize stablecoins itself. Republican Florida State Senator Colleen Burton told lawmakers that the legislation aims to integrate state oversight with federal guidelines, as established under a dual-track system in the GENIUS Act—a federal framework for stablecoins passed into law last year.

“It’s important that we do this today,” she said, noting that the bill would allow Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation to become the primary regulator of payment systems using stablecoins. In many ways, Florida’s framework for stablecoins mirrors rules pertaining to traditional transactions. That includes requiring so-called money services businesses to maintain records of stablecoin transactions valued at more than $10,000, which is already the case for other digital assets defined as “virtual currencies.” In 2019, Texas became the first state to recognize stablecoins as a form of “monetary value” regarding money transmission rules, according to analysis from law firm Paul Hastings. In 2023, additional rules were adopted under that state’s Money Services Modernization Act.