The state of Wyoming has granted top U.S crypto exchange Kraken a license to establish the first U.S digital assets bank known as Kraken Financial. As a result of this license, the company will function as a recognized and fully regulated U.S bank under both federal and state law with the power to provide comprehensive deposit-taking, custody, and fiduciary services for digital assets.
Through Kraken Financial, customers can receive their salaries in Bitcoin as well as pay utility bills such as electricity, gas, and water using the cryptocurrency. The company will also facilitate the smooth integration of digital assets into mainstream trading and banking. The CEO David Kinitsky speaking on the license said:
“We’re thrilled to work in a state so aligned with our philosophy and values. Wyoming is a rare and shining example of how thoughtful regulation can drive innovation for FinTech companies.”
Kraken is one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S. founded in 2011, and begets a focus on cryptocurrency to fiat trading and bridging the gap between mainstream and digital banking. The launch of Kraken Financial is only an extension of this focus to enable more people to access digital assets for their everyday use.
Wyoming presents an ideal environment for achieving the goal because of the nature of its financial laws which gives allowance for crypto innovators to easily thrive and provide such services for clients. The digital assets bank will be operating from its headquarters in Cheyenne, Wyoming, offering services to U.S clients. However, Kraken indicates interest in making the banking services available to clients all over the world in the future.
Its services will include Digital asset custody, demand/deposit accounts (DDAs), wire transfer, and funding services. As time passes, the bank says it will include more services for both individual and corporate clients including retail, wealth management, and treasury services.
Meanwhile, Kraken has recently listed four new DeFi tokens to allow its users access to the booming DeFi industry. The tokens include Synthetix (SNX), Curve (CRV), Balancer (BAL), and Polkadot (DOT)’s “cousin”, Kusama (KSM). Each of the four tokens will have four trading pairs with USD, EUR, XBT, and ETH. Trading will start shortly after funding is enabled.
