Crypto Custodian Prime Trust to Cease Operations in Texas at End of January

Prime Trust, a digital-asset custodian, will stop doing business in the U.S. state of Texas effective Jan. 31, according to a notice posted on its website.

The company provides custody and other services to key players in the crypto industry such as Swan, Abra and Okcoin, according to its website.

Prime Trust notified in affected customers on Dec. 30 that it withdrew its Texas Money Transmitter License (MTL) application, according to Michelle Marin, senior vice president of communications at Prime Trust. The company informed customers not based in Texas on Jan. 23 in an effort to be transparent, Marin said.

“We continually renew applications, and this is a part of the process,” Marin said. “We intend to swiftly reapply and resume business in Texas.”

Public records show Prime Trust was fined $29,850 by the Banking Commissioner of Texas last year for conducting money transmission activities in the state without a license.

CoinDesk requested clarification for why Prime Trust withdrew its MTL application but the firm declined to comment further.

According to Prime Trust's notice, users who try to open a new account from Texas will receive an error message, and further contributions to accounts in the state are blocked. Disbursements are not blocked, and the company says it will work with customers to close down accounts.

Read more: Crypto Services Firm Prime Trust Replaces CEO Tom Pageler

CORRECTION (20:21 UTC): This story has been corrected to show that affected customers were notified on Dec. 30. A previous version of the story noted that customers were notified earlier this week, which is when the notice was posted on the website.