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Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed a bill that allows state-registered banks to provide custody services for virtual currencies. It is reported by The Block.
The House of Delegates and the Senate passed the document without votes against.
The law will go into effect on July 1, 2022 and will allow financial institutions to hold the private keys to someone’s wallets, Republican delegate Chris Head, who introduced it, explained.
The rules will oblige banks to have “adequate protocols” and “thoroughly examine risks.” But what exactly the system will look like remains to be worked out with the banking regulator and the relevant state commission, said Democrat delegate Mark Kim, co-sponsor of the law.
“I think this is a great way for our state and the rest of the country to start actualizing the idea of cryptocurrency. We wanted people to identify it as something that can be owned in a physical way. You can go to the bank, deposit your virtual currency and provide institutional-grade security,” he said.
Many people may be “nervous” about blockchain, according to Kim, but everyone is familiar with banks.
“Cryptocurrency is something that everyone should pay attention to. This is an emerging financial asset with growing popularity, which has significant potential for economic development in the areas covered,” said Chris Head.
He said the idea for the bill came from Texas. In June 2021, the Department of Banking of this state allowed local banks to hold digital assets.
Recall that in May a similar bill was passed in Nebraska. At the federal level, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency within the US Treasury has allowed financial institutions to hold cryptographic keys since July 2020.
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