Caitlin Long, Founder and CEO of Custodia Bank, passionately defends the cryptocurrency industry in a recent Wyoming Public Radio article. Long, a Wall Street veteran, has been instrumental in making Wyoming one of the most crypto-friendly states in the country.
Long believes that cryptocurrency has brought new people and jobs to Wyoming, a state that has struggled to diversify its economy beyond the energy industry, according to Will Walkey’s article. “This is incredible,” she exclaimed. I’m seeing people coming from Denver, rather than our children going to Denver.”
The article also mentions how other Western states, such as Colorado and Nevada, have attempted to stay ahead of the cryptocurrency adoption curve. Some experts, however, question whether states should be attempting to attract crypto businesses.
According to Chris Odinet, a law professor at the University of Iowa, “these crypto assets are not at all tied to the real economy.” There are no merchants or commercial firms with consumer and commercial goods as well as supply chains. So, I believe you must ask, “What exactly is this for?”
Wyoming is the first state to allow businesses to store digital currencies alongside fiat currencies under the same roof using Special Purpose Depository Institutions (SPDIs). According to the article, Odinet believes that allowing banks to provide crypto investment or custodial services is a grave error.
Finally, the article mentions Congress’s efforts to regulate digital assets, with Wyoming’s junior senator, Cynthia Lummis, co-introducing the Responsible Financial Innovation Act with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y).
On March 22, the CEO of Custodia Bank expressed reservations about the Biden Administration’s stance on cryptocurrency. She stated that the administration appears to want all cryptocurrency out of the United States. Long also questioned the SEC’s actions, claiming that if any of the agency’s actions against Coinbase predated the company’s IPO, the SEC had overstepped its investor-protection mandate.
