By
Godfrey Benjamin
April 17th, 2024
The role that Wyoming Deposit & Transfer will play in the custody of assets, both digital and fiat, is billed to support the development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Digital asset bank, Wyoming Deposit & Transfer Corporation (WDT) has secured a banking charter to provide cryptocurrency custody and other related services. The Charter was given by the Wyoming Division of Banking and it was under the regulatory framework of a Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI). WDT is the third entity to be awarded the Banking Charter under the Wyoming State laws.
The embrace of digital currencies and the provisions of services to consumers is largely limiting as regulations pose a bottleneck to service providers. Wyoming has been one of the progressive states with laws accommodating digital assets. Through the banking charter granted to WDT, the company is now in a position to offer commercial banking encompassing both digital assets and fiat currencies.
“The new bank charter will enable Wyoming Deposit & Transfer to provide seamless commercial banking together with custodial services for a wide range of tokenized assets and digital and fiat currencies, meeting the needs of fiduciary institutions as well as small and medium sized blockchain and digital assets ventures, which are the intended audiences for Wyoming’s blockchain legislation,” said WDT Chief Executive Officer Julie Fellows, an experienced banking executive, and regulatory veteran.
WDT caters to the needs of a variety of clients, particularly institutional and corporate buyers. Fellows noted that the firm’s executives have always worked with these sets of clients to understand their needs, especially as it relates to digital assets investments. According to her, the understanding gained from here helped in designing products that align with the regulatory demands of the Wyoming State. All these contributed to the easy granting of the Banking Charter from the state regulators.
WDT Banking Charter to Help Develop Digital Asset Ecosystem
The role Wyoming Deposit & Transfer will play in the custody of assets, both digital and fiat, is billed to help the advancement of the development of the cryptocurrency ecosystem. Kraken digital currency exchange and Avanti Bank were the first two firms to be awarded the charter. The inclusion of WDT on this list has not only reiterated the stand of Wyoming to fully embrace crypto but also given room for healthy competition that will help develop the ecosystem more than it currently is.
“We are pleased to have worked closely with the Wyoming Division of Banking to unite the goals of the Wyoming Legislature and regulators with the urgent need for fiduciary institution access to a qualified and regulated digital asset custodian and transfer agent,” Fellows added.
The global cryptocurrency industry is battling harsh regulations across the board, especially as is being fueled by energy concerns. China is enforcing a stern clampdown on both crypto mining and related activities in the country, a development that stirred huge volatility in the market in the past few days. Moves by Wyoming regulators can serve as a reference point for more inclusive regulations to accommodate digital currency activities.