The pace of adoption of the crypto-verse seemed to be taking a notable plunge. Texas’s latest move is proof enough of the same.
While the world still battles the deadly Covid-19 virus, Bitcoin [BTC] emerged as a promising digital asset. The king coin’s five-fold growth paved the way to many countries to embrace the crypto industry. Even though the asset has plummeted down to $36K from $64K, the demand for BTC persists.
While El Salvador made sure to give Bitcoin a legal status in the country, other regions of the world have their own way of showing support for the king coin. A Texas state regulator was lauded for its recent crypto-friendly move.
Texas state banks can provide virtual currency custody services
The Texas Department of Banking issued a recent notice highlighting that banks in the state would now be able to hold cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and several others. State-owned banks were given a green signal in terms of providing services that included virtual currencies to their customers. However, these banks were obligated to maintain protocols that efficiently managed the risks that surrounded the crypto-verse.
While noting that Texas-state chartered banks have rendered custody services for several other assets, the regulator wrote,
“While custody and safekeeping of virtual currencies will necessarily differ from that associated with more traditional assets, the Texas Department of Banking believes that the authority to provide these services with respect to virtual currencies already exists pursuant to Texas Finance Code § 32.001.”
Furthermore, the notice entailed details pertaining to the crypto industry and its functions. The latest law seemed to be the result of the recent bill to recognize cryptocurrencies that were passed in the Texas House of Representatives.
Additionally, the regulator even allowed the banks to join hands with third-party service providers. The regulator further added,
“As with the method of custody services, several secure storage options are available to the bank, each of which has distinctive characteristics pertaining to level of security and accessibility. The bank will have to determine which storage option best fits the circumstances.”