New Bitcoin Firms May Get Transitional License in New York

FinCEN Virtual Currency NYDFS

On November 2, New York Superintendent Lawsky delivered remarks at the Money 20/20 Conference on the state’s virtual currency and Bitcoin regulation. In October, Lawsky publicly stated that, as a result of the comments received on New York’s proposed BitLicense framework, there would be important changes made to the July 17 proposal. This week, on behalf of the NYDFS, Lawsky announced that additional changes are being considered to address “concern about the compliance costs of regulation on new or fledging virtual currency enterprises.” Specifically, Lawsky introduced the concept of a Transitional BitLicense, which would allow certain small, money transmitting startups to begin operating without huge compliance costs. Lawsky noted four main factors the NYDFS would consider when deciding whether or not to grant a Transitional BitLicense: (i) the nature and scope of the business and the associated risks for consumers; (ii) projected transactional and business volume; (iii) registration status as a Money Services Business with FinCEN; and (iv) previously established mitigating risk controls.