Texas Bill Brings More Transparency and Clarity to Crypto Exchanges

We here at Coingape have reported on the Texas legislation, HB 4371 which is aimed to bring more transparency and clarity to crypto exchanges. This bill “relative to the regulation of virtual currency" was introduced in the House of Representatives in the State of Texas by the representative Phil Stephenson.

The key aspects of this bill include- Investor protection, transparency regulations, derivatives regulation, anti-money laundering compliance, and other Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) regulations.

This bill also mentions about the trust charter. According to the text, an operator of a financial services trust company that owns or controls a digital asset must receive a trust charter from the Texas Banking Commissioner, who will be responsible for overseeing financial activities surrounding cryptocurrencies including virtual currencies.

In addition, HB 4371 also states that operators must comply with FinCEN regulations and anti-money laundering procedures or they can face civil penalties. These measures are taken so that any suspect activities such as frauds or scams can be checked upon and penalised accordingly.

The bill also requires operators to maintain records related to their digital asset operations, identities of customers, trades made and other related data for at least 5 years. This is done so that individuals are protected from any fraudulent activity.

This move by Texas is seen as a huge positive step in bringing more clarity and transparency into the Cryptocurrency space. It has been applauded by many experts who feel that it is essential for governments around the globe to regulate such activities.