Wyoming introduced a bill on Friday that suggests classifying digital assets as property within existing laws. If passed, the bill will make Wyoming the first state of the U.S. to give clear banking permissions for cryptocurrencies and digital assets.
Wyoming is going all out to support cryptocurrencies and its underlying blockchain technology. Just a few days back, a bill regarding legislation to allow the issuance of tokenized stock certificates using blockchain tech was proposed. Now, a bipartisan group of state legislators introduced SF0125 to the government on Friday.
If passed the bill will classify cryptocurrencies as property and also establish “an opt-in framework for banks to provide custodial services for digital asset property as directed custodians,” determine standards for such services, clarify how Wyoming courts might classify digital assets and more.
The co-founder of Wyoming Blockchain Coalition, Caitlin Long, believes that the bill is a major step forward and could be a boon for crypto startups and users alike, as reported by CoinDesk. She elaborated:
“A lot of companies are setting up as New York trust companies … the [Wyoming proposal] is a much better license than a New York Trust license because it’s [aimed at banks] and it’s in a state that has clarified the legal status of digital assets. Those two things are equally important. There isn’t another state that’s providing that clarity.”
1/ TWEETSTORM about #Wyoming’s BIG REVEAL. This is long & info-packed, so buckle in. My native state is about to do bigger things for #blockchain, & the sector is about to pay Wyoming back big-time. Win-win! @Tyler_Lindholm @SenatorDriskill @TraceMayer @ForbesCrypto pic.twitter.com/gP4oWtTmJj— Caitlin Long ? (@CaitlinLong_) January 18, 2019