Crypto Trader SFOX Receives Trust License Approval from Wyoming Regulators

The U.S. state of Wyoming has approved a trust license for California-based cryptocurrency broker SFOX, allowing the firm to provide custody and other cryptocurrency-related services to institutional clients.

The Wyoming trust charter will allow the company to operate in the state as a SAFE Trust Company, serving institutional clients, private clients and advisors, SFOX said in a statement Tuesday. According to the company, SAFE will "act in a variety of fiduciary roles" including direct trustee, discretionary trustee, fiduciary adviser and protector.

Akbar Thobhani, CEO of SAFE and co-founder of SFOX, said: "The new license will allow us to provide safe, secure and efficient investment, trading and custody services for a wide range of digital assets, meeting the needs of investors, especially in the Small companies, who currently have limited access to these investments. Our mission is to provide access to a wider range of digital assets in a safe and efficient manner.”

Excited to be the first crypto company to be approved as a Wyoming trust and be part of the responsible crypto regulatory movement led by @CynthiaMLummis and @WYLegislature
— SFOX (@SFox) March 1, 2022
Under the trust license, SFOX said it will serve clients seeking investment opportunities in Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Avalanche (AVAX) and other tokens, under Wyoming regulation The framework hosts digital assets. SAFE said it plans to gain approval from the state’s banking regulator to “operate as an independent, regulated and qualified custodian of digital assets.”

Wyoming has been at the forefront of a state-focused approach to digital asset regulation since granting cryptocurrency exchange Kraken a banking license in September 2020. Following this decision, the state went on to elect crypto-friendly U.S. Senator Cynthia Lummis and asked its lawmakers to introduce legislation recognizing DAOs as unique LLCs and proposed giving the state treasury secretary the power to issue stablecoins.

Founded in 2014, SFOX is backed by companies like Digital Currency Group, Blockchain Capital, Y Combinator, and Airbnb co-founder Nathan Blecharczy. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that a group of the firm’s engineers and traders were planning to expand access to bitcoin derivatives through non-deliverable forward contracts.