Regards safekeeping and management of unclaimed digital assets

As Introduced

136th
General Assembly

Regular
Session
H. B. No. 426

2025-2026

Representatives Williams, Demetriou

To
amend section 169.01 and to enact sections 169.20, 169.21, 169.22,
169.23, 169.24, 169.25, and 169.26 of the Revised Code
to
provide for the safekeeping and management of unclaimed digital
assets.

BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:

Section
1.
That
section 169.01 be amended and sections 169.20, 169.21, 169.22,
169.23, 169.24, 169.25, and 169.26 of the Revised Code be enacted to
read as follows:

Sec.
169.01.
As
used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

(A)
"Financial organization" means any bank, trust company,
savings bank, safe deposit company, mutual savings bank without
mutual stock, savings and loan association, credit union, or
investment company.

(B)(1)
"Unclaimed funds" means any moneys, rights to moneys, or
intangible property, described in section 169.02 of the Revised Code,
when, as shown by the records of the holder, the owner has not,
within the times provided in section 169.02 of the Revised Code, done
any of the following:

(a)
Increased, decreased, or adjusted the amount of such funds;

(b)
Assigned, paid premiums, or encumbered such funds;

(c)
Presented an appropriate record for the crediting of such funds or
received payment of such funds by check, draft, or otherwise;

(d)
Corresponded with the holder concerning such funds;

(e)
Otherwise indicated an interest in or knowledge of such funds;

(f)
Transacted business with the holder.

(2)
"Unclaimed funds" does not include any of the following:

(a)
Money received or collected under section 9.39 of the Revised Code;

(b)
Any payment or credit due to a business association from a business
association representing sums payable to suppliers, or payment for
services rendered, in the course of business, including, but not
limited to, checks or memoranda, overpayments, unidentified
remittances, nonrefunded overcharges, discounts, refunds, and
rebates;

(c)
Any payment or credit received by a business association from a
business association for tangible goods sold, or services performed,
in the course of business, including, but not limited to, checks or
memoranda, overpayments, unidentified remittances, nonrefunded
overcharges, discounts, refunds, and rebates;

(d)
Either of the following:

(i)
Any credit or obligation due a retail customer that is represented by
a gift certificate, gift card, merchandise credit, or merchandise
credit card, redeemable only for goods or services, including gift
cards issued by financial organizations or business associations;

(ii)
Any electronic payment device that is issued by a financial
organization or a business association that has no expiration date
and meets all of the following conditions:

(I)
It is purchased or loaded on a prepaid basis for the future purchase
or delivery of goods or services.

(II)
It is redeemable upon presentation to a single merchant or service
provider or an affiliated group of merchants or service providers.

(III)
It is not redeemable for cash in whole or in part.

(e)
Any open-loop prepaid card that is issued by a financial organization
or a business association for which the underlying funds do not
expire. For purposes of division (B)(2)(e) of this section,
"open-loop prepaid card" means an electronic payment device
that meets all of the following conditions:

(i)
It is purchased or loaded on a prepaid basis for the future purchase
or delivery of any goods or services.

(ii)
It can be used to purchase goods and services at multiple
unaffiliated merchants or service providers.

(iii)
It is not redeemable for cash in whole or in part.

(f)
Any rewards card. For purposes of division (B)(2)(f) of this section,
"rewards card" includes any loyalty, incentive, or
promotional type program that is issued by a financial organization
or a business association whether represented by a card or electronic
record, which program is established for the purposes of providing
cardholder awards, rewards, rebates, or other amounts to reward the
cardholder for the cardholder's relationship with the entity
sponsoring the rewards card, provided that no direct money was paid
by the cardholder for the rewards card. "Rewards card"
includes both of the following:

(i)
Cards or electronic records consisting of points, cash, or other
tokens of value given to a cardholder as a reward or incentive for
engaging in a transaction or a series of transactions;

(ii)
The unpaid portion of a rewards card when the rewards card is
partially loaded by the cardholder with the remaining portion funded
as a reward or incentive.

(g)
"Digital assets" as defined in section 169.20 of the
Revised Code.

A
minimal annual fee charged to the cardholder for joining any such
loyalty, incentive, or promotional type program shall not be
considered direct money paid by the cardholder for the rewards card.
For purposes of division (B)(2)(f) of this section, "cardholder"
means the holder of a rewards card, regardless of whether the rewards
card is represented by a card or by an electronic record.

For
purposes of division (B)(2) of this section, "business
association" means any corporation, joint venture, business
trust, limited liability company, partnership, association, or other
business entity composed of one or more individuals, whether or not
the entity is for profit.

(C)
"Owner" means any person, or the person's legal
representative, entitled to receive or having a legal or equitable
interest in or claim against moneys, rights to moneys, or other
intangible property, subject to this chapter.

(D)(1)
"Holder" means any person that has possession, custody, or
control of moneys, rights to moneys, or other intangible property, or
that is indebted to another, if any of the following applies:

(a)
Such person resides in this state;

(b)
Such person is formed under the laws of this state;

(c)
Such person is formed under the laws of the United States and has an
office or principal place of business in this state;

(d)
The records of such person indicate that the last known address of
the owner of such moneys, rights to moneys, or other intangible
property is in this state;

(e)
The records of such person do not indicate the last known address of
the owner of the moneys, rights to moneys, or other intangible
property and the entity originating or issuing the moneys, rights to
moneys, or other intangible property in this state or any political
subdivision of this state, or is incorporated, organized, created, or
otherwise located in this state. Division (D)(1)(e) of this section
applies to all moneys, rights to moneys, or other intangible property
that is in the possession, custody, or control of such person on or
after July 22, 1994, whether the moneys, rights to moneys, or other
intangible property becomes unclaimed funds prior to or on or after
that date.

(2)
"Holder" does not mean any hospital granted tax-exempt
status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or any
hospital owned or operated by the state or by any political
subdivision. Any entity in order to be exempt from the definition of
"holder" pursuant to this division shall make a reasonable,
good-faith effort to contact the owner of the unclaimed funds.

(E)
"Person" includes a natural person; corporation, whether
for profit or not for profit; copartnership; unincorporated nonprofit
association; public authority; estate; trust; two or more persons
having a joint or common interest; eleemosynary organization;
fraternal or cooperative association; other legal or community
entity; the United States government, including any district,
territory, possession, officer, agency, department, authority,
instrumentality, board, bureau, or court; or any state or political
subdivision thereof, including any officer, agency, board, bureau,
commission, division, department, authority, court, or
instrumentality.

(F)
"Mortgage funds" means the housing
guarantee

development

fund
created by division (D) of section
128.11

175.11

of
the Revised Code.

(G)
"Lawful claims" means any vested right a holder of
unclaimed funds has against the owner of such unclaimed funds.

(H)
"Public utility" means any entity defined as such by
division (A) of section 745.01 or by section 4905.02 of the Revised
Code.

(I)
"Deposit" means to place money in the custody of a
financial organization for the purpose of establishing an
income-bearing account by purchase or otherwise.

(J)
"Income-bearing account" means a time or savings account,
whether or not evidenced by a certificate of deposit, or an
investment account through which investments are made solely in
obligations of the United States or its agencies or instrumentalities
or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the United States or
its agencies or instrumentalities, debt securities rated as
investment grade by at least two nationally recognized rating
services, debt securities which the director of commerce has
determined to have been issued for the safety and welfare of the
residents of this state, and equity interests in mutual funds that
invest solely in some or all of the above-listed securities and
involve no general liability, without regard to whether income earned
on such accounts, securities, or interests is paid periodically or at
the end of a term.

(K)
"Director of commerce" may be read as the "division of
unclaimed funds" or the "superintendent of unclaimed
funds."

(L)
"Attorney unclaimed funds" means any unclaimed funds, as
defined in division (B)(1) of this section, that are any of the
following:

(1)
Funds held in interest on lawyer trust accounts pursuant to section
4705.09 of the Revised Code;

(2)
Funds held in an interest on trust accounts pursuant to section
3953.231 of the Revised Code;

(3)
Residual settlement funds whether for named or unnamed plaintiffs,
received by the division of unclaimed funds, and held, paid out, or
allocated by the division pursuant to or consistent with the terms
and conditions of the court order authorizing the settlement fund.

Sec.
169.20.
As
used in sections 169.20 to 169.26 of the Revised Code:

(A)
"Act of ownership interest" includes any of the following
actions by the owner of a digital asset account:

(1)
Conducting a transaction utilizing the digital asset account, whether
by a one-time transaction or a recurring transaction previously
authorized by the owner, including both of the following:

(a)
Buying or selling digital assets;

(b)
Depositing into or withdrawing from the account fiat currency or
other property.

(2)
Electronically accessing the digital asset account;

(3)
Conducting any activity with respect to another digital asset account
or any other property owned by the owner with the same holder;

(4)
Taking any other action that reasonably demonstrates to the holder
that the owner knows that the property exists.

(B)
"Digital asset" means virtual currencies, cryptocurrencies,
native electronic assets, including stablecoins and nonfungible
tokens, and other digital-only assets that confer economic,
proprietary, or access rights or powers.

(C)
"Digital asset account" means a customer account, wallet,
or other repository device maintained by an owner with a holder, that
contains one or more types of digital assets. A digital asset account
may also contain fiat currency or other property, in addition to one
or more digital assets.

(D)
"Private key" means a unique element of cryptographic data,
used for signing transactions on a blockchain, and is known to the
owner of the element.

(E)
"Qualified custodian" means a company that sells digital
assets to customers and offers custody services for them, or any
federal or state-chartered bank, trust company, or special purpose
depository institution that is authorized to sell digital assets or
offer custody services for them.

Sec.
169.21.
(A)
Digital assets held within a digital asset account are presumed
abandoned two years after either of the following:

(1)
The date a written or electronic communication from the digital asset
account holder to the owner is returned undelivered by the United
States postal service or by electronic mail or other electronic
messaging method, as applicable;

(2)
If the owner does not receive written or electronic communications
from the holder, or if the holder does not have the means of
systematically tracking or monitoring the nondelivery of such
communications, the date of the last exercise of an act of ownership
interest by the owner in the digital asset account.

(B)
A period of abandonment described under division (A) of this section
ceases to run immediately upon the exercise of an act of ownership
interest in the digital asset account or a written, oral, or
electronic communication with the holder as evidenced by a memorandum
or other record on file with the holder or its agents.

Sec.
169.22.
(A)
If a digital asset within a digital asset account is presumed
abandoned under section 169.21 of the Revised Code and the holder has
full control of the necessary private keys required to transfer the
asset, the holder shall report and deliver the asset in its native
form to the qualified custodian designated by the director of
commerce under section 169.24 of the Revised Code within thirty days
of reporting.

(B)
The holder shall provide the director of commerce with proof of
delivery upon request.

(C)
In the event the holder possesses only a partial private key to the
asset or is otherwise unable to move the asset to the director's
designated qualified custodian, the holder shall maintain the asset
until the additional key or keys required to transfer the asset
become available or the holder is otherwise able to transfer the
asset to the director's designated qualified custodian.

Sec.
169.23.
(A)
The director of commerce shall require the qualified custodian to
maintain a presumed abandoned digital asset in its native form for a
minimum period of two years prior to arranging for the sale of the
asset in accordance with division (B) of this section, in order to
enable owners to make claims to the asset prior to sale. If an owner
makes a claim to the asset still in the custody of the director of
commerce in its native form, the director shall cooperate with the
owner to transfer the property to the owner's selected custodian.

(B)(1)
The director of commerce may sell or arrange for the sale of an asset
held under sections 169.21 and 169.22 of the Revised Code not sooner
than two years after the asset is delivered to the qualified
custodian.

(2)
Proceeds of the sale of an asset under division (B)(1) of this
section shall be deposited as unclaimed funds into the unclaimed
funds trust fund created under section 169.05 of the Revised Code.

(C)
The director of commerce may not sell an asset for less than the
prevailing market price at the time of sale. If an asset does not
have a prevailing market price or the director of commerce does not
have a means of determining the prevailing market price, the director
may sell the asset by any commercially reasonable method.

Sec.
169.24.
(A)
The director of commerce shall select a qualified custodian for the
management and safekeeping of presumed abandoned digital assets held
under sections 169.21 and 169.22 of the Revised Code not later than
one year after the effective date of this section.

(B)
The director shall select a qualified custodian based on evaluation
of all of the following criteria:

(1)
Use of secure storage solutions to ensure the safekeeping of digital
assets, including robust cybersecurity measures to prevent
unauthorized access;

(2)
The capability to manage private keys associated with digital assets
and ensure the ability to transfer or transact with the assets when
required;

(3)
Proven experience in handling digital assets;

(4)
Compliance with all applicable federal and state regulations related
to digital asset custody;

(5)
Regular reporting mechanisms to the director of commerce regarding
the status and value of the digital assets under custody;

(6)
Processes used to reunite owners with their digital assets, including
maintaining updated contact records and issuing timely notifications;

(7)
Qualifying as a "financial institution" under 31 C.F.R.
part 1010;

(8)
Any other factors the director determines relevant.

Sec.
169.25.
The
qualified custodian selected pursuant to section 169.24 of the
Revised Code shall enter into a formal agreement with the director of
commerce. This agreement shall specify the custodian's duties,
obligations, and compensation, as well as terms governing termination
of the agreement and auditing rights by the state.

Sec.
169.26.
Nothing
in sections 169.20 to 169.25 of the Revised Code shall be construed
to apply to any money, rights to money, or intangible property,
described in section 169.02 of the Revised Code, considered to be
unclaimed funds for the purposes of sections 169.01 to 169.17 of the
Revised Code.

Section
2.
That
existing section 169.01 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.