Florida legislators have approved a regulatory framework for payment stablecoins and sent the bill to Governor Ron DeSantis for his expected signature.
Senate Bill 314, which cleared the Florida Senate unanimously after already passing the House, was shared publicly by Samuel Armes, founder of the Florida Blockchain Business Association. With both chambers in agreement, the measure is anticipated to be signed into law within 30 days.
SB 314 creates state-level guidelines for payment stablecoin issuers and works alongside companion House Bill 175. The bill adds stablecoins explicitly to Florida’s Control of Money Laundering in Money Services Business Act, requires issuers to follow existing financial rules, and prohibits unlicensed issuance in the state. It also clarifies that certain payment stablecoins will not be treated as securities.
Out-of-state issuers must notify the Florida Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) before operating in Florida. Oversight will depend on each issuer’s structure: some operators will be regulated solely by the OFR, while others may face joint supervision with the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The law also prevents qualified issuers from paying interest or yield to holders if federal rules bar such payments, addressing concerns about incentive-related risks.
SB 314 aligns Florida’s consumer protection and oversight standards with the federal GENIUS Act enacted in July.
Separately, lawmakers have revived a proposal to allow state and certain public entities to invest in digital assets. Representative Webster Barnaby filed House Bill 183 in October to permit allocations of up to 10% of funds into a broader set of crypto investments — expanding beyond Bitcoin to include crypto exchange-traded products, crypto securities, non-fungible tokens, and other blockchain-based assets. HB 183 is a revised version of HB 487, which was withdrawn in June after not advancing in a House operations subcommittee.
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