(San Francisco) — Bitcoin service provider Coinbase has suspended operations in Wyoming. The state known for its vast plains, Rocky Mountains, and famed Yellowstone National Park is apparently not a Bitcoin friendly territory.
In a company blog post on Tuesday, an anonymous company spokesman cited the Wyoming Division of Banking’s recent regulatory legislation as the primary reason for ceasing business in the state, declaring that it made continued operations impractical.
“We understand that the Wyoming Division of Banking interprets the Wyoming Money Transmitter Act to require licensure of entities which offer hosted bitcoin wallet services, and that as a condition of such licensure, licensees must maintain dedicated fiat currency reserves in amount equal to aggregate face value of all bitcoin held on behalf of customers…”
Coinbase said that although it does securely maintain 100% of all customer bitcoin, it would be impractical, costly, and inefficient for the company to establish a redundant reserve of fiat currency in equivalent value.
“We understand this suspension will inconvenience our Wyoming customers and we apologize that we cannot currently project if or when our services may be restored,” the post concluded.
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