Unanimous approval of an amendment request from January 2022 has been passed by Virginia State Senate. Eligible banks in the state of Virginia are now allowed to provide ‘virtual currency custody services’.
An overwhelming 39-0 vote passed the bill into the hands of Glenn Youngkin, Governor of Virginia, where it is now awaiting the final signature.
After House Bill No. 263 was introduced by Virginia Delegate Christoper T. Head after seeing the Texas regulations.
“I came up with the idea for HB 263 last summer after reading about how Texas was addressing the issue of cryptocurrency and who is permitted to hold the keys to one’s cryptocurrency purse…Texas decided to tackle this topic of cryptocurrency custodian services through its regulatory process. I discovered that no state at that time, nor to date, has addressed cryptocurrency custodian services legislatively.”
Christopher T. Head
The Senate requires that the customers of the eligible banks retain control over their public and private keys.
“Functionally, the bill allows state-chartered banks in Virginia to hold the keys to one’s cryptocurrency purse, similar to how individuals use safety deposit boxes at banks,” stated Head, adding that “acting in a fiduciary capacity, the bank shall require customers to transfer their virtual currencies to the control of the bank by creating new private keys to be held by the bank.”
