Rejected 1: US Hawaii Set To Authorize Banks Sell Crypto

The Hawaii State Senate of the United State of America passed a bill to authorize to purchase and sell cryptocurrency, Cointelegraph reports on January 24th.

On January 17th, five senators led by Sen. Kurt Fevella (Republican) submitted a bill that if been approved, will authorize banks to keep custody of cryptocurrency. The bill was read by the house on Jan 21 and forwarded on Jan 23 to the two committees (committee of Judiciary and Commerce, and Committee of Consumer Protection and Health) that need to approve the bill.

According to Sen. Kurt Fevella on the introduction of the bill, “the safekeeping and management of customer currency and digital assets through the exercise of fiduciary and trust powers under this section as a custodian and includes fund administration and the execution of customer instructions.”

Three years ago, coinbase was one of the crypto exchanges that were affected when Hawaii State imposed a strict constraint on companies operating with/on cryptocurrency. This the bill will not only open business grounds for those closed businesses but also Hawaii takes the lead among other US state regarding crypto industry.

When the bill is approved, banks keeping custody of crypto will follow the standards set in accordance with accounting and internal controls and maintain IT best practice. Also, Anti-Money Laundering protocols will be followed to ensure customers complete their Know Your Customer (KYC) verification.

The proposed law classifies digital assets to be under Uniform Commercial Code (a federal law that creates equality in legislation surrounding sales and commercial transactions in the country) and further categorizes it as digital consumer assets, digital securities, or virtual currencies. This means that the court can attend to cases regarding digital assets.