Nebraska Bill to Allow Banks to Offer Crypto Services Passes to Final Round; Temenos to Include Access to Crypto Asset Services in its Products & More

Hey ?? Blockchain & Cryptocurrency aficionados! Trust you had a wonderful week. This is the best Weekly Blockchain & Crypto Digest thus far. Enjoy!

P.S. Before we dive into what happened in Blockchain & Crypto last week, check out my Newsletter, where you will get much more. Every Week????

Last week (17-22 May) was another interesting week in the Blockchain & Cryptocurrency space. Nebraska’s unicameral state lawmakers have passed a bill that will create a banking charter for digital asset depository institutions; financial software provider Temenos is giving its more than 3,000 client banks across the globe the ability to offer crypto features to their customers; crypto exchange FTX is in the process of closing a funding round said to value the company at around $20 billion, and other super interesting news and developments.

Without further ado, let us dive into what has happened in the financial technology sector this week. Let’s connect the dots.

Nebraska Bill to Allow Banks to Offer Crypto Services Passes to Final Round

Nebraska could follow Wyoming and open its first crypto bank should the bill pass the final round.

Nebraska’s unicameral state lawmakers have passed a bill that will create a banking charter for digital asset depository institutions. It’s currently headed to the governor’s desk

Bill 649 would create a charter that would offer customers and institutions places to custody their digital assets. 

The banks will look rather similar to Wyoming’s special purpose depository institutions, such as Avanti Financial and Kraken Financial. The bill also permits already existing state-chartered banks in Nebraska to open crypto banking divisions.

THE TAKEAWAY

Regulators are slowly joining the crypto boat. Support for digital asset service is slowly emerging on a state-by-state basis. Although seemingly slow, this should open more opportunities for innovative companies working in the digital asset space, especially given that federal guidance is even slower in the US.

Temenos to Include Access to Crypto Asset Services in its Suite of Products

Financial software provider Temenos is giving its more than 3,000 client banks across the globe the ability to offer crypto features to their customers.

The banking software company will launch new features with the help of the integration of Taurus SA (“Taurus”), the Swiss digital asset and blockchain infrastructure FinTech

Taurus will be leveraged as a partner to deliver simplified access to digital assets for Temenos’ banking clients.

Taurus recently received a securities firm license from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) to operate the first independent regulated marketplace for digital assets in the world.

It must be noted that the fintech is uniquely able to cover cryptocurrencies including Staking and Decentralized Finance (DeFi), any type of tokenized assets on any standard including issuance and full-lifecycle management, and digital currencies - all within the same platform.

THE TAKEAWAY

The easier it is - the better. As soon as it becomes easy for banks to start offering crypto assets to their clients, more of them will do that. That’s exactly the gap Temenos is trying to fill. More importantly, crypto capabilities mean that smaller banks could be better positioned to cater to customers interested in crypto, giving them a competitive advantage over their bigger counterparts.

Wells Fargo is Set to Offer Crypto Fund to Rich Clients

Wells Fargo is yet another big US bank that is set to introduce a crypto-currency fund, despite the recent fall in the value of Bitcoin.

Wells Fargo said on Wednesday it would introduce professionally managed funds for its more wealthy clients.

In a report, its investment institute said the risks associated with digital currencies meant it would favor "qualified investors".

It came as the price of Bitcoin fell after China said it was imposing fresh curbs on cryptocurrency.

In a report titled "The investment rationale for cryptocurrencies", the Wells Fargo Investment Institute (WFII) said it viewed digital coins as an alternative investment.

"WFII believes that crypto-currencies have gained stability and viability as assets, but the risks lead us to favor investment exposure only for qualified investors, and even then through professionally managed funds," it said.

THE TAKEAWAY

Another one. This is yet another legacy institution that acknowledges that crypto investments have a role in portfolios. More importantly, it illustrates that investors are really asking for this – a conservative bank such as Wells Fargo wouldn’t be risking its resources and reputation on this market without the certainty that there is demand.

Extra Reads & Quick Bites for Curious Minds??:

• Crypto market saw $1 trillion wiped off market cap in the broad rout. Bitcoin's price dropped below $35,000 for the first time since February 9. It's the lowest point in 14 weeks, and back to the same price level before Tesla announced its corporate treasure policy in holding bitcoin, according to data from CoinGecko.
• Riot Blockchain (NASDAQ: RIOT) reported mining revenue of $23.2M during the first quarter, up over 880% versus the same period last year. Margins from its bitcoin mining operations were 67.5%, versus 40.4% in Q1 2020; net income was $7.5M versus a net loss of $4.3M in Q1 2020.
• The U.S. Federal Reserve plans to publish a discussion paper this summer that will have a "particular focus on the possibility of issuing a U.S. central bank digital currency," according to a press release.

??Money Moves??

• Blockchain lending firm Figure raises $200M, pushing its valuation to $3.2B. The round was co-led by 10T Holdings and Morgan Creek Digital.

Quote of the Week/??Food for Thought??

Can you see it? ??

Graph of the Week

When it dips, it dips…

Week in Brief

Nebraska could follow Wyoming and open its first crypto bank should the bill pass the final round.

Financial software provider Temenos is giving its more than 3,000 client banks across the globe the ability to offer crypto features to their customers.

Wells Fargo is yet another big US bank that is set to introduce a crypto-currency fund, despite the recent fall in the value of Bitcoin.

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P.S. You might enjoy my earlier pieces as well:

?? The Perfect Pitch Deck: How Coinbase Raised Seed Capital and Began Journey Towards $100B Worth Public Company

?? Cutting Through the Noise: Bitcoin Fundamentals & Why it Was Created

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About: I am a business developer, sales professional, FinTech strategist, as well as Cryptocurrency and Blockchain enthusiast. I'm highly passionate about Financial Technology and Digital Innovation, and strongly believe that it will change the world for the better. Apart from my daily job at a global payments startup where I'm leading the company's expansion into Europe, I'm an active member of the FinTech community and a TechFin evangelist.

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