As time progressed, more and more people entered the cryptocurrency industry, with institutions becoming the main target for digital asset companies. The influence of mainstream players has also brought the industry to the fore.
According to new reports, Caitlin Long who shot to fame for drafting Wyoming’s blockchain legislation has decided to launch the US’ own bank for digital assets.
Long has begun to prepare to apply for the Special Purpose Depository Institution [ SDPI ] with Wyoming’s banking division. The digital asset bank, titled Avanti, will aim to provide regulated services for virtual assets in the state. Avanti will collaborate with Adam Back’s Blockstream to provide digital asset services to its users.
According to Long:
“I’ve founded Avanti with key support from top people in crypto and important innovators from traditional finance. Seed funding round recently closed. Avanti will serve institutional customers that need services around Bitcoin and cryptoassets. Thanks to the wise Wyoming legislature and Governor Gordon, Wyoming paved the way for such banks to exist via its special-purpose depository institution (SPDI) law.”
Avanti is expected to be launched sometime in 2021 with plans to improve the ecosystem already in operation. The cryptocurrency bank has already raised one million in seed funding with more prospective investors in waiting. Long claimed that the burgeoning cryptocurrency industry was too hard to ignore and it was high time that people tap into it.
Long believed that the United States banks and trust companies just did not have the resources to navigate the fintech world. She claimed that Avanti will enable the US to compete with other crypto-interested countries such as China and Japan. The Wyoming SPDI on their part has placed stringent requirements for the bank to pass before it can come to fruition.
The association with Blockstream will allow multiple features to be integrated into Avanti. These features include multisig signing-as-a service and upcoming native Blockstream features. Avanti’s policies list that it wants to be fundamentally different from mainstream banks by providing cutting edge technology to its account holders.
Proponents of the field have begun studying what Avanti can offer to the cryptocurrency populous on launch. The partnership with Blockstream will enable Avanti to build adjacent APIs and conventional banking APIs. Adam Back, the CEO of Blockstream also announced that they will push everything to make Avanti a one-stop-shop for cryptocurrency custody.