2021 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
Title 6 - Banks and Banking
§1382. Definitions

RS 1382 - Definitions

For the purposes of this Chapter:

(1) "Applicant" means a person that applies for a license pursuant to this Chapter.

(2) "Control" means both of the following:

(a) When used in reference to a transaction or relationship involving virtual currency, power to execute unilaterally or prevent indefinitely a virtual currency transaction.

(b) When used in reference to a person, the direct or indirect power to direct the management, operations, or policies of the person through legal or beneficial ownership of voting power in the person or under a contract, arrangement, or understanding.

(3) "Department" means the office of financial institutions.

(4) "Exchange", when used as a verb, means to assume control of virtual currency from, or on behalf of, a resident, at least momentarily, to sell, trade, or convert either of the following:

(a) Virtual currency for legal tender, bank credit, or one or more forms of virtual currency.

(b) Legal tender or bank credit for one or more forms of virtual currency.

(5) "Executive officer" means an individual who is a director, officer, manager, managing member, partner, or trustee of a person that is not an individual.

(6) "Insolvent" means any of the following:

(a) Having generally ceased to pay debts in the ordinary course of business other than as a result of a bona fide dispute.

(b) Being unable to pay debts as they become due.

(c) Being insolvent within the meaning of federal bankruptcy law.

(7) "Legal tender" means a medium of exchange or unit of value, including the coin or paper money of the United States, issued by the United States or by another government.

(8) "Licensee" means a person licensed pursuant to this Chapter.

(9) "Person" means an individual, partnership, estate, business or nonprofit entity, or other legal entity. The term shall not include a public corporation, government, or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality.

(10) "Reciprocity agreement" means an arrangement between the department and the appropriate licensing agency of another state which permits a licensee operating under a license granted by the other state to engage in virtual currency business activity with or on behalf of a resident.

(11) "Registrant" means a person that registers with this state pursuant to R.S. 6:1390 to conduct virtual currency business activity.

(12) "Registration" means the ability pursuant to R.S. 6:1389 to conduct virtual currency business activity.

(13)(a) "Regulated financial institution" means a federally chartered or state-chartered depository institution and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, a Louisiana state-chartered trust company, a trust company chartered by another state, or a federally chartered trust company.

(b) "Regulated financial institution" shall not include either of the following:

(i) An industrial loan company.

(ii) A trust company chartered by a state with which this state does not have a reciprocity governing trust-company activities.

(14)(a) "Resident" means any of the following:

(i) A person who is domiciled in this state.

(ii) A person who is physically located in this state for more than one hundred eighty-three days of the previous three hundred sixty-five days.

(iii) A person who has a place of business in this state.

(b) "Resident" shall include a legal representative of a person that meets one of the criteria provided for in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph.

(15) "Responsible individual" means an individual who has managerial authority with respect to a licensee's or registrant's virtual currency business activity with, or on behalf of, a resident.

(16) "State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

(17) "Store", except in the phrase "store of value", means to maintain control of virtual currency on behalf of a resident by a person other than the resident. "Storage" and "storing" have corresponding meanings.

(18) "Transfer" means to assume control of virtual currency from, or on behalf of, a resident and do any of the following:

(a) Credit the virtual currency to the account of another person.

(b) Move the virtual currency from one account of a resident to another account of the same resident.

(c) Relinquish control of virtual currency to another person.

(19) "United States dollar equivalent of virtual currency" means the equivalent value of a particular virtual currency in United States dollars shown on a virtual currency exchange based in the United States for a particular date or period specified in this Chapter.

(20)(a) "Virtual currency" means a digital representation of value that is used as a medium of exchange, unit of account, or store of value, and that is not legal tender, whether or not denominated in legal tender.

(b) "Virtual currency" shall not include either of the following:

(i) A transaction in which a merchant grants, as part of an affinity or rewards program, value that cannot be taken from or exchanged with the merchant for legal tender, bank credit, or virtual currency.

(ii) A digital representation of value issued by or on behalf of a publisher and used solely within an online game, game platform, or family of games sold by the same publisher or offered on the same game platform.

(21) "Virtual currency administration" means issuing virtual currency with the authority to redeem the currency for legal tender, bank credit, or other virtual currency.

(22) "Virtual currency business activity" means any of the following:

(a) Exchanging, transferring, or storing virtual currency or engaging in virtual currency administration, whether directly or through an agreement with a virtual currency control services vendor.

(b) Holding electronic precious metals or electronic certificates representing interests in precious metals on behalf of another person or issuing shares or electronic certificates representing interests in precious metals.

(c) Exchanging one or more digital representations of value used within one or more online games, game platforms, or family of games for either of the following:

(i) Virtual currency offered by or on behalf of the same publisher from which the original digital representation of value was received.

(ii) Legal tender or bank credit outside the online game, game platform, or family of games offered by or on behalf of the same publisher from which the original digital representation of value was received.

(23) "Virtual currency control services vendor" means a person that has control of virtual currency solely under an agreement with a person that, on behalf of another person, assumes control of virtual currency.

Acts 2020, No. 341, §1.