Illinois to become another crypto-friendly state?
It is no stranger to crypto already, with the world’s largest derivatives market CME (Chicago) proposing Bitcoin futures since 2017, a Bitcoin ATM company CoinFlip (Chicago) operating since 2015 and the ambitious plans of the Sangha systems crypto mining firm to build solar-powered mining farms downstate.
It is now considering the “crypto banks” opportunity. A bill that would allow banks and other custodians to hold crypto for clients unanimously passed the House in April and is now waiting for the Senate reopening in autumn. If passed, Illinois would become the second state after Wyoming to deliver “crypto bank” licenses (Kraken got one in 2020 under the Wyoming law).
While the US Federal Government is sending mixed signals and the new head of the OCC (Federal bureau supervising banks) is anti-crypto, the future of the US crypto business may well depend on state legislators. Wyoming, Florida, and Texas are already well on the crypto track, it may now be the turn of Illinois to join.
