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Abstract: 

In recent years, state banking authorities have been more hospitable to companies engaged in virtual currency activities than their federal counterparts. In this article, the author discusses and contrasts the federal and state responses to the development of virtual currencies. He concludes that although the federal government initially seemed poised to take a lead on a new regulatory framework for virtual currency activities, it quickly lost ground to the states, and for the first time in decades state governments made state banking charters more attractive to banking institutions than federal charters.

Keywords: Dual Bank Chartering; Special Purpose Charters; U.S. Payments System; Special Purpose Depository Institution (SPDI) Charter

Affiliations:  1: Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.