Testimony on House Bill No. 4511 — Elizabeth Hansson, Economic Competitiveness Committee (November 11, 2025)

Summary

Written testimony of Elizabeth Hansson, Founder of the Detroit Blockchain Collective and Michigan President of Stand With Crypto, before the Economic Competitiveness Committee on House Bill No. 4511: Crypto Bill of Rights, dated November 11, 2025. Hansson states that the bill protects the right to hold and use digital assets and prohibits any additional tax, withholding, assessment, or charge based solely on using a digital asset as the method of payment. The testimony says the bill prevents government prohibitions on running a node, transferring digital assets on a blockchain protocol, and participating in staking. It asks for a yes vote to advance the bill.

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Full text

                                        TESTIMONY OF
                                               ​
                                       Elizabeth Hansson
                            Founder, Detroit Blockchain Collective
                           Michigan President, Stand With Crypto
                                               ​
                                         BEFORE THE​
                                               ​
                           Economic Competitiveness Committee​
                        Re. House Bill No. 4511: Crypto Bill of Rights


                                       November 11, 2025



Thank you Chair Hoadley, Majority Vice Chair Bohnak, Minority Vice Chair Grant, and members of the
Committee for the honor of the invitation to provide testimony on House Bill 4511. I appreciate the
Committee’s dedication to strengthening Michigan’s competitiveness and ensuring our state remains
a place where digital-economy builders and businesses can thrive. My hope is that my perspective is
helpful as the Committee considers how HB 4511 can provide clarity for consumers, builders, and
businesses while preserving the safeguards already embedded in Michigan law.

My professional background spans work across software engineering, financial technology, and the
digital-asset sector. After graduating from the University of Michigan, I began my career as a software
engineer in the automotive industry before moving into blockchain and decentralized finance, where I
spent eight years as CTO of a DeFi company during a period of rapid technological change. This
work gave me practical insight into how blockchain systems function and the economic
considerations that shape their use.

In Michigan, my focus is on strengthening the state’s digital-asset ecosystem. I founded the Detroit
Blockchain Collective, a leading regional hub that brings together builders, entrepreneurs, educators,
and industry professionals to advance education, collaboration, and innovation in emerging
technology. I also serve as the Michigan President for Stand With Crypto, where I represent nearly
55,000 Stand With Crypto advocates in our state, and more than 1.2 million Michiganders who own
cryptocurrency. These roles have shown me how clear, well-crafted policy can support innovation
while giving residents and businesses the certainty they need to participate confidently. For those
reasons, the policy framework established in House Bill 4511 is especially important.

House Bill 4511 protects the right of Michiganders to hold and use digital assets, enables lawful
peer-to-peer payments without extra charges, and provides clear, uniform rules that support jobs and
innovation while keeping all criminal and consumer protection laws fully in force.

In my work with software developers, entrepreneurs, and university students, I have seen how clear
rules make the difference between building in Michigan or going to neighboring states like Ohio.
Today, Michigan law is silent about the most basic parts of blockchain and digital assets, such as
the right to hold a digital asset, build on blockchain, or pay for a lawful good with a digital asset like
Bitcoin. By establishing clear statutory protections, House Bill 4511 directly addresses these gaps
and positions Michigan to lead in this technology.


I believe the three most important provisions in this bill are as follows:
Foremost, it protects the right to hold digital assets such as Bitcoin or stablecoins. This provides for
clear digital property rights and to own your own digital assets like you would keep cash in your
wallets. This protection is expressly subject to the Michigan penal code, so fraud and other crimes
remain fully prohibited.

Additionally, this bill empowers Michiganders and small businesses to accept digital assets as a
method of payment. The bill prohibits any additional tax, withholding, assessment, or charge that is
based solely on using a digital asset as the method of payment. It does not change standard taxes
that would otherwise apply if the same transaction took place in United States legal tender. Although
this may sound new to some, many large payment companies such as PayPal and Mastercard are
utilizing stablecoins, or digital assets backed by dollars, to make payments faster and cheaper today.
Other companies like Square are allowing millions of small businesses to elect to receive payment in
Bitcoin.
Finally, it allows open participation and software development in blockchain networks. The bill
prevents government prohibitions on three basic activities: running a node, also known as a
specialized computer, to connect to a blockchain protocol; transferring digital assets on a
blockchain protocol; and participating in staking on a blockchain protocol, also known as making
sure the results on a blockchain are valid. These are key basic protections that ensure blockchains
remain useful to Michiganders and that residents can benefit from participating in them.

I have seen firsthand how Michiganders use blockchain to build businesses, create jobs, and
strengthen communities. Our universities are graduating talent that wants to stay here if the rules
are clear. House Bill 4511 is balanced and puts Michiganders first.

I respectfully ask for a yes vote to advance the bill and keep Michigan competitive for builders,
students, and small businesses who want to build the future of blockchain here.

Thank you.


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