NY DFS BitLicense license
Overview
The BitLicense is the New York State Department of Financial Services' licence for virtual currency business activity, introduced in July 2014 by Benjamin Lawsky, New York's first Superintendent of Financial Services, and effective from 8 August 2015 after a 45-day comment period opened on 23 July 2014. It applies to firms that transmit, custody, buy, sell or exchange virtual currency, or that issue it, while explicitly excluding the development and dissemination of software in itself, and excluding merchants who use cryptocurrency purely for transactions or investment. It is widely regarded as the strictest US state-level crypto regime, and its introduction prompted at least ten bitcoin companies to stop serving New York, a departure the New York Business Journal called the 'Great Bitcoin Exodus'. Circle received the first BitLicense in September 2015, and subsequent holders have included Coinbase, Ripple's XRP II, Square, BitPay and PayPal. Firms can alternatively operate under a NYDFS limited purpose trust charter, the route taken by Paxos and Gemini. Proposed in July 2014 and effective 8 August 2015, the BitLicense triggered an exodus of at least ten crypto firms from New York. Circle was the first licensee in September 2015. In December 2019 the NYDFS proposed a 'greenlist' of pre-approved coins that licensees could offer without separate approval, a revision that remained pending as of that date.
Within the DeFi Intel graph, NY DFS BitLicense connects to 21 tracked entities, most strongly to NYDFS, Circle, Coinbase.
Relations
Top connections in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph (confidence-weighted, 10 of 21 total).
| Relation | Connected entity | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
governs | NYDFS | 96% |
regulated_by | Circle | 95% |
regulated_by | Coinbase | 95% |
regulated_by | Paxos | 95% |
regulated_by | Gemini | 95% |
regulated_by | BitGo | 90% |
regulated_by | Fidelity Digital Assets | 90% |
regulated_by | Bitstamp | 90% |
regulated_by | Robinhood Crypto | 90% |
regulated_by | bitFlyer USA | 90% |
Frequently asked questions
What is NY DFS BitLicense?
NY DFS BitLicense is a license tracked in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph. It is connected to 21 other tracked entities, most strongly to NYDFS, Circle, Coinbase.
What type of entity is NY DFS BitLicense?
NY DFS BitLicense is classified as a license (license) in the DeFi Intel knowledge graph.
What is NY DFS BitLicense connected to?
In the DeFi Intel knowledge graph, NY DFS BitLicense is linked to 21 other tracked entities, most strongly to NYDFS, Circle, Coinbase.
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