The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) continues to loosen its regulatory grip on cryptocurrency businesses that are transforming the finance sector.
The largest blockchain payments provider in the world, BitPay, today announced that the NYDFS has issued the company a BitLicense.
BitPay can now transact with companies and consumers who are based in New York, allowing users to accept and send Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash for purchases through its platform. Its suite of products enable cross border payments and allow users to turn cryptocurrency into cash with the BitPay Prepaid Visa Card.
The New York market is huge for BitPay. In 2015, New York had a gross state product of $1.5 trillion, ranking third in the nation. As the epicenter of fintech, along with Silicon Valley, New York is home to digital asset exchange Gemini, Wall Street investors, hedge funds and asset managers that are moving into crypto at break speed, expanding the ecosystem and normalizing the utility of blockchain-based assets. The Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange are also considering building their own dedicated cryptocurrency exchanges.
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New York has strict cybersecurity policies, anti-fraud, anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) regulations governing businesses involved in cryptocurrency.
The approval process sets up BitPay for continued growth. “We believe this hard work will pay off as New York presents significant business opportunities for BitPay,” said Stephen Pair, CEO of BitPay.
BitPay is the eighth company to be granted a BitLicense from the NYDFS, three years after Boston-base Circle received the first license in 2015.
