Gold and silver will soon be recognised as legal tender in Florida in the United States, under a new law allowing both government entities and private companies to accept these metals for debt payments.
The bill was unanimously passed by Florida’s House and Senate, and has now been signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis. It will enter into effect in July 2026, once rules for its implementation have been ratified by the state’s legislature.
“We are the first large state to step up and to get this done,” said DeSantis at the bill’s signing. “This legislation will authorize money services business like check cashers or PayPal to transmit and accept payment in gold and silver.”
Accepted gold and silver units must be “in the shape of rounds, bars, ingots, or bullion coins,” and stamped with their weight. Gold units must be at least 99.5% pure, while silver must be at least 99.9% pure.
Gold and silver units would also be free from sales tax under the law.
Utah became the first state to recognise gold and silver coins as legal tender in 2011, though the law only applies to coins issued by the U.S. government. While Utah’s legislature passed a bill in March that would allow state vendors to be paid in precious metals, it was vetoed by the state’s governor.
Spot gold prices rose on Thursday amid growth in unemployment applications in the U.S., before dropping today as sellers took advantage.
Across the week, gold has traded down more than 1%. Spot gold was trading at US$3,295.03 per ounce as of 4:25 pm (AEST), down 0.79%. Spot silver had dropped by 0.70% to trade at $33.09 per ounce.
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