Last week, Ohio moved one step closer to being able to accept crypto currency as payment for state fees and services. The news was greeted with congratulations from officials such as Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

“Ohio has always been a state of pioneers and innovators,” LaRose said. “I want to commend Treasurer (Robert) Sprague, Auditor (Keith) Faber, and Attorney General (Dave) Yost for taking this bold step to position us at the forefront of the emerging digital economy. There’s a reason why we now rank among the top five states in the nation to do business. It’s because we’re not afraid to embrace the tools, trends and technologies that incentivize job creators to come here. My office processes hundreds of thousands of financial transactions each year, and we’ve heard a growing demand for a cryptocurrency payment option. I’m excited and ready to be the first to provide it to our customers.”

LaRose points out his office processes nearly half a million payment transactions annually. Anything that will make some of those transactions easier for Ohioans to complete will surely be helpful.

But all this talk of being a pioneer and innovator must not lead state officials to throw caution to the wind, as crypto currency transactions carry their own set of challenges. Regulatory and insurance protections as well as strong security measures are still being worked out for crypto currency. In many ways users are even more responsible for their own security than they would be for traditional transactions.

That being said, surely the state is working diligently to provide the most secure processes possible for these transactions, and protections are in place such as ensuring a crypto payor who needs to dispute a charge will be able to receive a refund (if necessary) just as easily as they would if they had paid through traditional means.

As long as the work being done ends up being a benefit to Ohioans (and not a headache), it is admirable the speed with which state officials have worked so far on the project. Great care must be taken every step of the way as it progresses.