InfoBytes Blog
Virtual Currency Added to Utah’s Unclaimed Property Act
In March, Utah passed SB 175 amending its Unclaimed Property Act. Among the changes incorporated through the new law was the expansion of the law’s coverage to include “virtual currency”—a term the law defines as “a digital representation of value used as a medium of exchange, unit of account, or store of value, which does not have legal tender status recognized by the United States.” Notably, this definition explicitly excludes “(i) the software or protocols governing the transfer of the digital representation of value; (ii) game-related digital content; (iii) a loyalty card; (iv) membership rewards” and “(v) a gift card.” Virtual currency subject to Utah law must be turned over to the state’s treasury after it has been “presumed abandoned” for a prescribed period of time. The law contains a detailed test for when property has been presumed abandoned, when the clock starts ticking, and under what circumstances that clock may be paused and/or reset. In a March 15 press release, Utah Treasurer David Damschen, “applauded the final passage of SB 175,” but also explained that “there are certain changes in the law related to properties held by the banking and insurance industries that we may still have to make,” including, for example “certain prepaid debit card account balances.”