NORFOLK, Neb. — A northeast Nebraska company is taking a big step into the future of finance.

Governor Jim Pillen on Wednesday signed a charter allowing Norfolk-based Telcoin to operate as a digital asset bank — a first for the state and one of only a few in the nation.

The move means Telcoin’s cryptocurrency market will be partially backed by FDIC-insured banks and subject to state regulation, giving its digital transactions a level of oversight similar to traditional banking.

Pillen said in a statement that so-called stablecoins — digital currencies tied to government-backed assets — could soon offer Nebraskans another way to make payments.

“With this first-in-the-nation approach, Nebraska is leading a new era of digital payments by issuing a charter to a digital asset bank that can 'mint' stablecoins,” Pillen said. “Our message to the industry is simple: Nebraska is open for your business.”

The development traces back to the Nebraska Financial Innovation Act, legislation authored by then-state senator Mike Flood, who was also Telcoin founder Claude Eguienta’s college roommate.

“We’re very thankful to Governor Pillen, Congressman Flood, Director Lammers and his team for having the vision to see that this is about more than cryptocurrency. It’s about the technology of money, payments, and banking – financial technology innovation right here in Nebraska,” said Paul Neuner, founder and chief executive officer of Telcoin. “This charter is a milestone in the history of banking, but it also demonstrates that rural communities can play a part in emerging technologies – Norfolk, Nebraska can be at the center of the internet of money.”

That law made Nebraska the second state in the U.S., after Wyoming, to authorize digital asset banks.