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Illinois state-chartered banks learned how they can support Bitcoin businesses.

Coin Center, in collaboration with Digital Currency Group and the Illinois Blockchain Initiative, hosted an event in Chicago this week to help interested banks become more familiar with the technology and what they can do to support it.

Digital currencies companies have a hard time establishing banking relationships with traditional financial institutions. Rather than risk navigating the complex regulatory considerations around the technology, many banks have chosen to avoid servicing the industry altogether. This makes it that much harder for startups to operate, even putting aside regulatory burdens.

During the daylong event, Coin Center executive director Jerry Brito presented the conclusions of our report on banking, laying out the obstacles that digital currency companies face when attempting to get banked, what banks perceive as the risks, and how they can be overcome. The banks also had an opportunity to voice their concerns and offer suggestions for measures that companies could take to help potential banking partners feel more comfortable with digital currency business models.

Following the bank briefing, Coin Center and Digital Currency Group headed over to Chicago’s Bitcoin & Open Blockchain Community meetup to share their views on regulation and the ecosystem, respectively, and take questions from the audience. The packed event was a great time for all. If you are interested in hosting Coin Center at your local meetup, be sure to reach out.