The Nebraska state legislature has approved a bill that would allow banks in the state to offer cryptocurrency services to customers.

Nebraska state senators have voted for the bill that would allow banks to register as cryptocurrency depositories and offer crypto trading services to customers.

The bill passed with near-unanimous approval as 39 lawmakers voted to advance the bill to enrollment and initial review, with only one in disagreement.

Senator Mike Flood first introduced the bill in January, intending to adopt the Nebraska Financial Innovation Act to create digital asset depository institutions while providing for charter, operation, supervision, and regulation of such institutions.

According to Senator Flood, Nebraska had an opportunity to become an early adopter of cryptocurrencies which could help it benefit from finance and technology jobs.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity not only for my district but the state of Nebraska,” he said.

Flood had introduced the bill alongside another also focused on crypto banking. The second, Legislative Bill 648, contains the “Transactions in Digital Assets Act,” which proposes a set of rules for Nebraska banks looking to hold cryptocurrencies or offer custodial services. However, this bill is yet to be adopted.

This move by Nebraska follows similar legislation enacted by the state of Wyoming, thereby making it the second state in the US to set up a formal charter for crypto-powered banks.

Wyoming started its crypto-friendly constitutions when it passed its Digital Asset Law on February 26, 2019, and put into effect on July 1, 2019.

Wyoming went on to approve Kraken as its first crypto bank in September 2020. Kraken was granted the first special-purpose depository institution (SPDI) charter in Wyoming after the banking board approved the application.

After Kraken, another SPDI charter was approved for Avanti by the Wyoming State Banking Board, making it the second chartered bank in the state in 2020.

Nebraska is not the only state that has followed Wyoming's lead.

Some months back, Texas had attempted to follow in Wyoming’s footsteps after Representative Tan Parker introduced the Texas UCC amendment bill, which aims to recognize virtual currencies under commercial law. This bill was supposed to help define crypto regulation clarity in the state but it did not pass due to lingering challenges.

268 +