San Francisco-based bitcoin company Coinbase has suspended operations in Wyoming until further notice.
A company blog post cited the Wyoming Division of Banking’s recent regulatory legislation as a decisive factor for ceasing business in the western US state, noting it would render 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,” noted the post.
Coinbase said 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 apologise that we cannot currently project if or when our services may be restored,” it concluded.