InfoBytes Blog
New York DFS Superintendent Lawsky Comments On Virtual Currency and Bitcoin Regulation
On October 14, Superintendent Lawsky delivered remarks on virtual currency and Bitcoin regulation in New York City. Specifically, Lawsky addressed the comments received in connection with the DFS’s July 17 proposal to establish a licensing regime for virtual currency businesses. Lawsky clarified the following five areas of concern: (i) who will be required to obtain a BitLicense; (ii) which type of license, money transmitter and/or virtual currency, a business will be required to obtain, confirming that, if both are required, the application process will be streamlined; (iii) the requirements that banks providing virtual currency services will need to comply with; (iv) the regulation of mining when a miner engages in virtual currency services; and (v) the “compliance costs of regulation on new or fledging virtual currency enterprises.” Noting that the DFS hopes that companies will work with the DFS as opposed to “run[ning] from regulation,” Lawsky emphasized the significance of appropriate regulation as it pertains to safeguarding customers’ money at financial companies.