The Wyoming state government has been expanding its status as a hub for crypto and blockchain technology by passing several new bills this February.
According to Wyoming-based blockchain advocate Caitlin Long[1], the state of Wyoming has recently passed[2] resolution SF0125[3] on February 14, 2019, claiming that Wyoming “law recognizes property rights in the direct ownership of digital assets.” The bill plainly states “that digital assets are property within the Uniform Commercial Code” and goes on to elaborate some of its ramifications.
Long gave a succinct rundown of the bill’s most salient points, stating that “In other words, you're not forced to own digital securities through an intermediary. Blockchain tech enables direct ownership of assets, and now the law does too.” Since property law in the United States is in the hands of state jurisdiction, this new step is not only safe from the federal government but also can serve as a model for other states.
“It makes perfect sense that Wyoming is the epicenter of blockchain law in the US,” said Long, a Wyoming native. “That's also why institutional investors, which are prohibited by federal law from directly owning the assets they manage, can rest assured that Wyoming's digital asset custodians are actually solvent.”
This is not the only accomplishment made by pro-crypto voices in Wyoming, however. On February 2, 2019, the Wyoming State Senate also passed a bill updating the classification of crypto assets, including a clause to formally label them as currencies.
According to the text[4] of the bill, crypto assets can be considered to have three different statuses for legal purposes: digital consumer assets, digital securities and virtual currencies. All three of these definitions are specifically registered as personal property rather than private property, formally
