In March, the Utah State Legislature passed the Utah DAO Act, granting legal recognition and limited liability protections to decentralized autonomous organizations (DAO) in the state.
DAOs by default are not recognized as legal entities, and giving these organizations legal status in Utah could help clear up regulatory concerns.
David Lemke, chief financial officer at crypto wallet Giddy — and member of Utah’s Blockchain and Digital Innovation Task Force — and Utah Representative Trevor Lee both authored the bill before it was presented to the Utah State Legislature.
“Our goal was to create a regulatory framework that supports the growth and development of DAOs in Utah,” Lemke told Cointelegraph, adding, “The Act allows DAOs to become a legal entity, apply for a tax ID number, open a bank account, own property, deal with non-DAO businesses, run payroll, and exist in the ‘real’ world as opposed to on-chain only.”
Lemke and Lee sat down with Cointelegraph to talk about how the law came into effect and what they think it means for the future of the crypto industry in Utah.
How the Utah DAO Act came to be
So, what were the origins of the Utah DAO Act, and how did Lemke and Lee bring this legislation to life?
According to Lemke, there was…
