The United States state of Wyoming is set to become home to what will arguably be the country’s first regulatory compliant cryptocurrency and blockchain-focused banking institution according to a Monday announcement by Caitlin Long.
Caitlin Long, a crypto pioneer who has championed the formation of crypto-friendly regulations in Wyoming, is understandably involved in the creation of the bank, which has been named Avanti, with a Latin name origin meaning, Ahead.
According to Caitlin Long, the new bank will target institutional investors and crypto-related firms in the U.S who, until now, have lacked access to the banking infrastructure available to their competitors in other countries.
Per a Coindesk coverage of the development, Avanti had raised $1 million in a recently closed ceased funding round, and will integrate a range of services offered by Bitcoin startup, Blockstream to ensure institutional-grade custody of crypto assets.
For instance, to abide by the concept of allowing crypto holders to retain access to their funds even after it is stored with the bank, Avanti will employ multi-sig signing-as-a-service offered by Blockstream.
Caitlin further mentioned that the bank, which will soon submit a charter application for regulatory approval, and expected to be open to clients by early 2021. The bank will also be ‘protocol neutral,” a status which means it will eventually support cryptocurrencies beyond Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, information available on the Avanti website reiterates the project’s commitment to satisfy all necessary regulatory requirements for its operation, by leveraging Wyoming’s crypto-friendly rules.
A section reads:
Avanti must fully comply with all applicable federal know-your-customer, anti-money laundering, and related laws, as well as with Wyoming’s SPDI and digital asset laws, among which include requirements that fiat deposits be 100% reserved and that it meets the strictest consumer protections in the digital asset industry.
Coinfomania had reported in November, the introduction of new legislation in Wyoming that allows crypto-related companies to boycott the BitLicense requirement in New York.
That legislation allows the formation of “special purpose depository institutions” (SPDIs) or popularly “blockchain banks” and forms the foundation for which Avanti Bank is launching in Wyoming.
