Assembly Banking and Finance Committee, Wednesday, February 18, 2026

18 Februar 2026

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Assembly Banking and Finance Committee Mi., 18. Feb. 2026 California State Assembly

38:30 - 44:21

Redner 1

Good afternoon, and welcome to the committee on banking and finances informational hearing on digital asset innovation. We are convened today to delve into the realm of digital asset innovation, a technological and financial paradigm shift that has rapidly moved from being a subject of niche speculation to a critical unavoidable component of the global financial and economic conversation. This hearing is vital to ensure California is prepared to responsibly govern and strategically benefit from this emerging asset class. To discuss the state of the market, we must first establish a foundational understanding of the core technology. At its essence, a cryptocurrency is a form of digital or vital virtual money.

Its security and integrity are fundamentally ensured by cryptography, use of utilizing advanced mathematical principles to make fraud and counterfeiting virtually impossible. By defining characteristics of most cryptocurrencies, it is the decentralization. Unlike traditional fiat currencies, which are issued, controlled, and guaranteed by central banks and governments, cryptocurrencies operate without a need for a central authority. This decentralization is enabled by blockchain technology. A technology is a continuously growing list of records called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography.

This ledger is not stored in one place. Instead, it is transparently maintained and validated across a massive network of independent computers. This design ensures that every transaction is verified and unchangeable, establishing a level of trust and security previously only possible through traditional intermediaries. The lack of a single point of control is what gives these assets resilience and their revolutionary potential. The digital asset market has undergone a dramatic transformation and maturation since Bitcoin's genesis.

Today's ecosystem is vast, complex, and far more diverse than its origins. The market now encompasses thousands of digital assets serving a myriad of purposes. It extends far beyond simple peer to peer cash transactions. Decentralized finance applications seek to recreate traditional financial services like lending, borrowing, trading, and insurance without the need for banks or brokers operating instead through smart contracts, automated programs on the blockchain. We are now able to use blockchain technology to issue tokens, digital certificates of ownership that represent unique assets or traditional assets like stocks and voting rights.

We've seen a federal level of acceptance with stablecoins as well, digital assets designed to maintain a stable value relative to a specific traditional currency. This is a crucial bridge between the traditional and decentralized financial systems. There is broad consumer acceptance of this technology. Digital asset ownership is no longer confined to technological specialists. Californians and Americans across all demographics now hold or interact with various digital assets.

They recognize them as a new high growth and sometimes volatile, but increasingly valuable asset class for investment, savings, and payments. This has led to an unprecedented institutional integration. What was once dismissed by Wall Street is now actively being integrated by Major financial institutions, global payment processors, corporations, and technology giants are dedicating significant resources to incorporating digital assets and blockchain into their core services and balance sheets. This integration signals long term viability and confidence in the technology. On a global level, governments worldwide are moving beyond exploratory stages.

They focus on shifting towards establishing clear, predictable regulatory frameworks. This effort is crucial for two primary reasons, consumer protections, safeguarding investors from scams and market instability, and fostering responsible innovation, creating a supportive environment where these technologies can develop safely and legally. The objective of this hearing is to explicitly not endorse or criticize the speculative aspects of this movement, but to engage in a necessary and practical discussion about its implementations for California. We must address critical administrative and economic policy questions. As digital assets move to mainstream, the state has responded by developing effective and equitable mechanisms for managing assets that are abandoned or considered unclaimed.

This ensures that state law keeps pace with digital ownership and state financial stability in the long term. We must explore innovative concepts such as utilizing a potential digital asset reserve fund to determine if how state resources could strategically and safely interact with asset class to enhance California stability and resilience against economic headwinds. By understanding the technology, recognizing the market's maturity, and proactively addressing the regulatory gaps, California can position itself not just as a consumer of digital asset innovation, but as a leader in its governance and strategic implementation as it has done so in so many spaces.

44:22 - 44:48

Redner 2

We are joined here today by two esteemed speakers. Our state controller, Malia Cohen, is joining virtually to discuss forthcoming implementation of s b eight twenty two, the digital financial asset unclaimed property law, and Dennis Porter of Satoshi Action Fund, a nonprofit with a mission to responsibly advance Bitcoin and digital asset innovation. He will be discussing what a digital asset reserve fund could look like in California. With that, I'd like

44:48 - 45:11

Redner 1

to open up to our committee members to see if they'd like to make any remarks. Seeing none, let's move on to our first speaker, mister Dennis Porter. Appreciate you being here.

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