A Bill to introduce a regulatory sandbox into the US State of Wyoming covering blockchain and financial technologies ("FinTech") innovation.
An excerpt from the Bill appears below:
Purpose
A BILL for AN ACT relating to trade and commerce; making legislative findings; creating the financial technology sandbox for the testing of financial products and services in Wyoming; authorizing limited waivers of specified statutes and rules under certain conditions; establishing standards and procedures for sandbox applications, operations and supervision; authorizing reciprocity agreements with other regulators; requiring criminal history background checks; creating an account; requiring a consumer protection bond; specifying standards for the suspension and revocation of sandbox authorization; authorizing rules and orders; and providing for effective dates.
Section 1.
(a) The legislature finds the following:
(i) Financial technology is undergoing a transformational period in which new technologies are providing greater automation, connectivity and transparency for financial products and services;
(ii) Existing legal frameworks are restricting financial technology innovation because these frameworks were largely established at a time when technology was not a fundamental component of financial products and services;
(iii) Financial technology innovators require a supervised, flexible regulatory sandbox to test new products and services using waivers of specified statutes and rules under defined conditions;
(iv) Jurisdictions which establish regulatory sandboxes are more likely to provide a welcoming business environment for technology innovators and may experience significant business growth;
(v) Arizona, Illinois and the United Kingdom have enacted, or are considering, regulatory sandboxes for financial technology innovators in their jurisdictions;
(vi) The state of Wyoming currently offers one of the best business environments in the United States for blockchain and financial technology innovators, and should offer a regulatory sandbox for these innovators to develop the next generation of financial technology products and services in Wyoming.