Banking industry advocates are urging the Senate to follow the House's lead and pass the National Defense Authorization Act with a provision that includes a safe harbor for financial institutions working with cannabis firms.
House Passes Defense Spending Bill With Pot Banking Provisions, AR Pot Init Campaign Gets Underway, More (9/24/21) stopthedrugwar.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from stopthedrugwar.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Dek: Victor Ngo, 33, has pleaded guilty to making a false statement to JPMorgan Chase when he said his medical marijuana dispensary was a wellness and fitness company.
Financing has always been rocky for Colorado s legal marijuana industry, which largely operates in cash because of the plant s federally illegal status. Only an estimated 35 financial institutions in Colorado deal with the cannabis industry and try to do so anonymously, according to Amanda Averch at the Colorado Bankers Association.
To move around this, some dispensaries are experimenting with digital currency and payment apps.
Boulder dispensary Helping Hands Cannabis was the first marijuana store in Colorado to accept Bitcoin and Ethereum, two popular forms of cryptocurrency, in 2019. The shop introduced the Strike Payment app to customers shortly after, allowing shoppers to scan their phone wallets QR codes for a cash-free plug. The app functions similarly to the Western Union and TransferWise money exchange services, but users don t have to deal with the nitty-gritty of taxes, fees or even the complexity of Bitcoin, as the Strike automatically converts U.S. dollars to Bitcoi