https://x.com/tftc21/status/1930318424468795427?s=46

Are you a paying attention…?

California just passed a bill to seize #Bitcoin left idle on exchanges.

After 3 years of inactivity, assets can be taken by the state under 'Unclaimed Property' laws.

Bill now heads to the Senate. https://t.co/nl1pQPWkvW

TFTC

This is egregious. Make sure you take self custody of your bitcoin.

This is nothing insidious- check the thred here (https://t.co/gby4ZHzlrw) to understand why California extending its escheatment laws to cover digital assets held by third parties is consistent with centuries of consumer protection.

Drew Hinkes

@quicknode GTM | /startupradar                                 rants and travel photos are my own

https://x.com/propelforward/status/1930371417234911342?s=46

This is my favorite argument from him:

https://x.com/propelforward/status/1930355210507170289?s=46

roflcopter … bc working w the govt is so seamless. No bureaucracy, no red tape no can kicking, just a quick and easy process to get your money back…

So you have to basically not transact for 3 years, not access your account for 3 years, AND ignore email and snail mail communications for 3 years. At that point, the entity would transact your assets to the temporary control of the state's custodian 3/x

oh noes! But not really. Because under the escheatment statute, all you have to do is go to the state website and search for your name (https://t.co/xhti2BGOWe) fill out some forms, show ID and ....you get your stuff back. 4/x

lawyer and investor @ True Ventures / fmr GC @Paradigm, @Circle, DHS / law, tech, policy, security, crypto
 / coldebella.substack.com

Somewhat, but it's not 'asset seizure' like civil forfeiture, it's unclaimed property, which happens for ex. when a company tries to mail you a check to an address that you no longer live at.

Brian Armstrong himself has said elsewhere: custody is a loss leader, it's a recurring cost to Coinbase to store BTC in wallets sitting at rest, in some ways by shifting this liability onto the state it saves private CEXs money, though perhaps 3 years is too short. Cold storage custody solutions should also be exempted.

I see Drew’s logic: if someone dies and their property sits vacant for years with no will or trust, it makes sense for the state to eventually put it to use.

What doesn’t sit right with me is the arbitrary time limit that gives the government the ability to seize assets.

For example, I’ve held BTC in cold storage and haven’t touched it in over 5 years, purposefully. I set and forget.

If that were sitting on a CEX, the state could just seize it? That’s not protecting citizens, it’s penalizing long term self-custody and low-activity hodlrs. It seems less like public service and more like another way for Uncle Sam to grab assets that were created to exist outside his reach.