It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the need for candidates specializing in cryptocurrency and blockchain has become more apparent than ever before. This could be attributed to the fact that major companies are announcing job positions for candidates who are knowledgeable in alternative payments and emerging technologies. For example, global software giant Apple has recently announced plans to recruit a new business development manager with alternative payment experience. Other leading companies, such as PayPal, Venmo and Tesla, have also been seeking out talent with blockchain and cryptocurrency expertise. Colleges ramp up blockchain and crypto courses Several colleges and universities …

The University of Wyoming is allocating $4 million to running nodes and staking at least three cryptocurrencies. The news was shared to Twitter on April 28 by Caitlin Long, a Wyoming Blockchain and Fintech Select Committee appointee and founder of Avanti Bank & Trust — a local bank servicing the digital asset sector. NEWS NOT REPORTED YET: State of #Wyoming appropriated $4m for nodes/staking in at least 3 cryptocurrencies, run by Univ of Wyoming. This kickstarts program where gains from this pool, if matched by private donations, go to fund UWyo! @rothfuss https://t.co/LDul3iGtS4 pic.twitter.com/KxFVm5YhLp — Caitlin Long (@CaitlinLong_) April 28, …

Wyoming has passed a new law legalizing online sports betting in the state with gamblers able to fund their accounts with bookmakers using cryptocurrencies. Governor Mark Gordon signed House Bill 133 into law on Monday, with new guidelines expected to take effect from Sept. 1. The move sees Wyoming becoming the second state in the United States to permit online sports betting. As part of the bill, the state’s legislature recognized crypto as suitable means of making deposits into online sports betting accounts. According to the definitions under Article 1 of the legislation, cryptos, as well as digital and virtual …

Amid the patchwork of state and federal regulations for crypto and blockchain firms, Wyoming seems to have established itself as a more progressive jurisdiction for companies involved in the novel technology. For Pierluigi Matera, professor of comparative law at the Link Campus University of Rome, these liberal blockchain laws could see the state chip away at Delaware’s preeminence in business incorporation in the United States. In a paper published on Thursday, Professor Matera argued that Wyoming’s targeted blockchain-friendly approach could pose a significant challenge to Delaware’s dominance. According to statistics from the Delaware government portal, 67.8% of all Fortune 500 …

The United States is divided politically these days into red states and blue states, and increasingly, it seems to be fracturing into cryptocurrency-friendly and crypto-wary locales, too. On Feb. 21, it was revealed that San Francisco-based Ripple Labs had registered as a Wyoming business. Wyoming is arguably the most blockchain and cryptocurrency-welcoming state in the United States. Meanwhile, several days later, New York State’s attorney general announced a settlement of the office’s long-standing investigation into crypto trading platform Bitfinex for illegal activities. As a result, Bitfinex and affiliated Tether must pay $18.5 million for damages to the state of New …

Blockchain-based payments firm Ripple Labs has now registered a business in Wyoming. According to records from the Wyoming Secretary of State, Ripple Markets WY LLC’s status as a local business is listed as "active" after an initial filing in February 2020. As a limited liability company in Wyoming, Ripple’s registered agent will be based in Cheyenne. “More crypto companies are realizing Wyoming is a better domicile than Delaware due to our crypto-friendly laws,” said Caitlin Long on Twitter. Long is the CEO of digital bank Avanti Bank & Trust and associated with the state legislature’s Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial …

Following Tesla’s groundbreaking Bitcoin announcement, pro-crypto Senator Cynthia Lummis set out the welcome mat for Elon Musk in her home state of Wyoming. Taking to Twitter yesterday, Lummis invited the Tesla and SpaceX CEO to consider relocating to “one of the most business friendly states” with “the best laws for digital assets” in the United States. The offer followed the news that Tesla had purchased $1.5 billion in Bitcoin (BTC) and would be accepting the crypto asset for payments. Hey @elonmusk, I hear Wyoming is one of the most business friendly states in the nation and has the best laws …

As per recent rumors, United States Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, could drop a stringent piece of crypto-related legislation before his expected exit at 2020’s end. The ruling could potentially severely limit or ban self-custodied digital asset wallets — a key component of the entire industry. Cynthia Lummis, a U.S. Senator-elect hailing from the crypto-friendly state of Wyoming, finds the ruling harmful. “I spoke with Secretary Mnuchin last week and strongly pressed him for a better path forward,” Lummis said as part of a tweet thread on Friday, adding: “Congress is best placed to weigh the competing policy issues …

Caitlin Long, founder and CEO of Avanti Financial, is asking crypto users and others to testify in support of a piece of legislation which could help stop SIM swap attacks. In a tweet posted today, Long requested that any of her 70,500 followers who had been the victim of a SIM swap testify for the Wyoming legislature on Dec. 16. According to the Wyoming State Legislature website, the Avanti CEO will join members of the Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation Technology online to discuss the issue of SIM swaps. Also in attendance will be Joel Revill, …

By way of disclaimer, today’s Law Decoded is going to be especially America-centric. Writing to you from the ghastly swamp that is Washington, D.C., I generally try to keep these newsletters more globally minded, displeased as I am with how often the news cycle acts like this town is the center of the solar system. Thematically, however, the relationship between the capital and the rest of the country is central to this week’s news. U.S. federalism is a critical feature of this remarkably frustrating country. The back-and-forth between federal and state power is one of the defining tensions of these …

San Francisco-based crypto exchange Kraken has become the first cryptocurrency business to receive a charter to operate as a bank in the United States. When seen as part of a larger-scale shift in regulatory attitudes that may help to bring crypto into the mainstream, the repercussions could be even more significant. Kraken Financial, the firm's new bank, is headquartered in Cheyenne and got the green light from Wyoming on Sept. 16 as a special-purpose depository institution (SPDI) — a bank that can both receive deposits and custody assets. "For Wyoming, this is an economic development initiative," founder and CEO of …

Wyoming State Representative and long-time crypto champion Tyler Lindholm has been unseated in the Republican state primaries by a candidate representing the far-right of the party. So far it is unclear how this may affect the state’s blockchain friendly legislation, although, following his defeat, Lindholm said he was “100% confident the [blockchain] laws are safe and secure,” according to a report by Forbes. The upset came as part of a determined push by right-wing donors, conservative advocacy groups and factions within the Wyoming Republican Party, which netted a number of key victories over incumbents. As many of the Republican candidates …