The Texas Department of Banking today issued a notice confirming that state-chartered banks may store cryptocurrency on clients’ behalf, provided they have “adequate protocols in place” for complying with the law.
Though that seems like a big victory for the state’s cryptocurrency firms and users, in the department’s view, nothing has really changed.
“Texas state-chartered banks have long provided their customers with safekeeping and custody services for a variety of assets,” it wrote. “While custody and safekeeping of virtual currencies will necessarily differ from that associated with more traditional assets, the Texas Department of Banking believes that the authority to provide these services with respect to virtual currencies already exists pursuant to Texas Finance Code § 32.001.”
