The First Crypto US Bank: Kraken Received Licensing From The Wyoming Banking Board

• The Wyoming Banking Board has voted to approve an application for a special purpose depository institution (SPDI) charter of Kraken.

• In essence, Kraken has officially become the very first cryptocurrency exchange to become a newly chartered bank in the US since 2006, according to a NASDAQ report.

• This means that the exchange will get access to the existing federal payments infrastructure.

• It will also allow Kraken to further integrate funding and banking options to its clients, said the managing director of the exchange and the CEO of Kraken Financial.

By becoming a bank we get direct access to federal payments infrastructure, and we can more seamlessly integrate banking and funding options for customers. – David Kinitsky said.

• Additionally, the license will allow Kraken to provide its services to clients in more jurisdictions and won’t have to deal with the state-by-state compliance part.

• The news comes less than two months after the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in the US issued a letter allowing U.S. Federal banks to offer crypto custody services.

• The OCC had also revealed that its approval limits banks to a specific type of cryptocurrency custody. Hence, financial institutions can store copies of the private keys of their customers or hold the assets themselves in well-secured cold storage facilities.