The state of Wyoming registers Ripple Labs as local business

Ripple Labs is now registered as a local business in the state of Wyoming under the name ‘Ripple Markets WY LLC’. According to the official records of the Wyoming Secretary of State website, Ripple Markets is an active business based in Cheyenne. Its initial filing dates back to February 11, 2020, which is before the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against Ripple Labs and its CEO Brad Garlinghouse and co-founder Chris Larsen for distributing XRP without registering it as a security.

Digital bank Avanti Bank & Trust founder and CEO Caitlin Long announced on Twitter the news about Ripple’s move. She tweeted, ‘WELCOME TO #Wyoming @Ripple!’ together with a snapshot of the official record on the website of the Wyoming Secretary of State.

In the same tweet, the long-time Bitcoin supporter promoted Wyoming as a more hospitable place for cryptocurrency companies compared to Delaware state in the US.

‘More #crypto [companies] are realizing Wyoming is a better domicile than Delaware due to our crypto-friendly laws,’ added Long who is also an appointee to the Select Committee on Blockchain, Financial Technology and Digital Innovation in Wyoming.

However, Ripple’s principal office remains in San Francisco, California according to the official record in the site of the Wyoming State Secretary.

Wyoming as a ‘haven state’ for digital asset companies

Aside from Ripple, other cryptocurrency companies such as the exchange site Kraken and Cardano’s research arm Input-Output Hongkong (IOHK) set up new businesses in the western state.

In September 2020, Kraken received the approval of the Wyoming State Banking Board in creating Kraken Bank which is now the world’s first Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI). Upon approval from the state, the San Francisco-based crypto exchange received a charter to operate as a digital asset bank that can receive deposits and custody assets.

It was at the same time that the Wyoming State Banking Board also granted Avanti a charter, allowing it to operate as a crypto-friendly bank with its own tokenized US dollar called ‘Avit’.

The state’s fast approval of Avanti testified its solid regulations when it comes to companies related to digital assets, strengthening its position as a ‘haven’ for crypto businesses.

‘Wyoming’s regulators are the only bank regulators that have a supervisory and regulatory oversight program nearly in place. All other states and the [Office of the Comptroller of the Currency] are not yet ready to supervise banks engaging in digital asset activities,’ Long elaborated in an interview with crypto news site Cointelegraph.

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