CHEYENNE, Wyo.—A new effort is underway in Wyoming to create a new bank dedicated to the crypto and blockchain industry, while separately, Visa has announced one cryptocurrency exchange has been made a principal member.
In Wyoming, the creation of Avanti Bank has been announced by Caitlin Long, a Wall Street veteran and crypto advocate who, during the past two years, helped shepherd a range of blockchain-centric legislative efforts – 13 in total – in the state, Yahoo Finance reported.
Long said on Twitter Avanti is "preparing [for a] long process of charter application and [aims] to open early 2021." She said a seed funding round had recently been closed, Yahoo Finance reported.
Avanti is partnering with bitcoin startup Blockstream, with the company supplying Avanti with technological infrastructure, particularly for the custody of digital assets, Yahoo Finance said.
Coinbase Made a Visa Principal Member
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has been made a Visa principal member.
The firm said the news marks it as the "first pure-play crypto company" to be approved by the credit card giant, CoinDesk said.
Coinbase has been working with Visa since 2019 when it launched its Coinbase Card in the U.K. The debit card allows users to spend cryptocurrency as cash anywhere Visa is accepted.
The card has since been made available in 29 markets with 10 cryptocurrencies supported. Principal members of Visa are financial institutions authorized to issue some types of payment cards.
“In theory, Coinbase could issue cards to other crypto companies, though it's not clear if it plans to use that power immediately,” CoinDesk said.