It is finally morning again in the Wyoming. Initially I planned to start driving directly after my plane landed. After looking into the weather report, though, I am glad I decided to wait it out until the next day, today. The snow has stopped but the wind makes the condition almost white out. My car is struggling to stay straight. The wind is howling in excess of seventy miles per hour, making driving to Cheyenne extra...fun.
Wyoming is a land of magic, full of nature events that you won't be able see on the west coast where I am from. Sometimes I can see an empty patch of land with all the snow blown away. All I can see is the tall grass dancing like someone has combed it. This experience adds to the drama of the place. It is original without trying hard to impress its visitor. It actually does not care if you are impressed or not.
Wyoming has never been high on my list of places to visit. When planning for my trip from the plains to the west coast, I always prepared to be bored and bought several audiobooks to entertain me on the long monotonous drive. Ironically, this is the place that I have visited the most, since it is located between the pacific northwest and the plains. It is a place of transit between the cozy of the PNW and the vast prairies of Texas.
I am finally here driving interstate 25 north, after deciding to come to visit this land of Wonder. The last time I visited this place was just several years ago, but I already cannot remember anything about the experience. It always feels like this is my first time driving thru.
My interest was piqued to visit Cheyenne after my online research on Crypto and Blockchain. After listening to a podcast about the latest news on Wyoming, I followed up by reading a lot about Cheyenne and Wyoming pushing to become first Crypto-friendly state. They want to be the united states of Zug, Switzerland—the famous crypto valley of Europe. The place where many crypto currencies such as Ethereum and Cardano first got started.
Wyoming is a small state with—other than Yellowstone—no tourist attractions. It has attracted almost no big industries other than cattle and agriculture. Low tech businesses. To see them suddenly become the first state to allow a high tech business grabt my curiosity. I had to learn why this place wants to become the forefront on bleeding edge technology such as blockchain and decentralized finance.
The push to become the first Crypto friend state started with the announcement that Kraken Bank will be based in Cheyenne, and its intention to be the first Crypto bank in the united States. The other main news of the week was the approval by the Wyoming State Banking Board of a Special Purpose Depositary Institution (SPDI) charter for Avanti Financial, making it the second company to become, effectively, a “crypto bank.” Avanti will be able to accept and custody fiat and digital asset deposits, while being designated a “bank” for regulatory purposes. Kraken was the first a few weeks ago, and Avanti not only broadens the field; it is also pushing the boundaries in terms of innovative service.
All this became possible because one year ago, The U.S. state of Wyoming introduced a bill for the implementation of a system for company filings that uses blockchain technology. Under the act, the state would implement a new filing system intended to "use blockchain technology as the the technological framework for the system," by the end of 2021.
After a spending a couple days driving between its cities, I find that both Cheyenne and Laramie are both still sleepy towns and it seems that nothing has changed. They are typical mountain state small cities. I feel that I arrived at the party early, the chairs are being set. However, I feel like this place has the potential to be the next silicon valley for blockchain companies. Their people are rugged and self-sufficient. You must be tough, to be able to survive this harsh environment. It is a perfect place that combines freedom and the courage to try an unproven technology like Blockchain.