Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has signed SB 3019, the Digital Asset Privilege Tax Act, according to ChainCatcher via Bitget News, making the state the first in the country to impose a transaction-based tax on everyday digital-asset activity.
The Crypto Council for Innovation, a global industry alliance, has formally requested a line-item veto of Article 3, the section that establishes the levy. The group warns the law could "seriously impair digital asset use and investment" across the state.
The bill taxes digital-asset exchange, transfer, and custody at a rate of 0.2% per transaction, applying at each point of use rather than tying the tax to income or capital gains. As a16z crypto's Miles Jennings noted on X, "there is effectively no comparable state financial transaction tax imposed on the exchange, transfer, or custody of stocks, bonds, or derivatives anywhere in the country."
CCI adds that the law contains no meaningful exemptions for routine activities such as moving assets between one's own accounts, meaning Illinois consumers bear the levy even on self-transfers between wallets. The group's letter draws an explicit comparison: an investor who exchanges, transfers, or holds a stock, bond, or derivative incurs no equivalent state tax, regardless of whether the transaction settles on paper or through a brokerage platform.
