InfoBytes Blog
NY DFS Reveals Final BitLicense Requirements for Digital Currency Firms
On June 3, New York’s departing superintendent of financial services, Benjamin Lawsky, revealed that the agency has adopted final regulations of the BitLicense, the regulatory framework in which digital currency firms operate within the state. In prepared remarks delivered at the BITS Emerging Payments Forum in Washington, D.C., Lawsky announced that the final BitLicense – which has undergone two previous updates – contains key consumer protection, AML compliance, and cybersecurity requirements. Moreover, Lawsky advised of the latest changes, and provided guidance clarifying that (i) firms that wish to obtain both a BitLicense and a money transmitter license will not have to submit separate applications, if they can satisfy the requirements for both; (ii) firms filing suspicious activity reports (SARS) with federal regulators, such as FinCEN, will not have to file a duplicate set of SARS with the state; (iii) firms must obtain prior approval for changes to their products or business models; (iv) firms will not require prior approval from the regulator for each round of venture capital funding, unless the investor seeks to oversee the company’s management and policies. Lawsky also clarified that the DFS intends to regulate only financial intermediaries who hold customer funds, rather than software developers who specifically focus on developing software, and do not hold customer funds.