On June 24, the five-year anniversary of New York’s virtual currency licensing regime known as the BitLicense, the New York Department Financial Services (DFS) published new guidance and FAQs related to approval for use of specific currencies and the licensing process, as well as a proposed conditional licensing framework. The measures offer important insight for companies holding or considering applying for a BitLicense and represent the most significant changes and proposed changes since the regulation’s initial issuance in 2015.
Guidance for Adoption or Listing of Virtual Currencies
Under the BitLicense regime, licensees and approved charter holders under the New York Banking Law (collectively, “VC Entities”) are required include virtual currencies (“coins”) they plan to “list” in their initial application to DFS. Historically, in order to list new assets VC Entities were required to go back to DFS to seek approval. Given the proliferation in coins available over the past five years this became a cumbersome and time-consuming system. In order to remedy this issue, in December of 2019, DFS issued proposed guidance to allow licensees to “offer and use new coins in a timely and prudent manner.” After receiving public comments, DFS has now published final guidance creating “two separate frameworks designed to enhance speed and efficiency in a VC Entity’s adoption or listing of coins.” These two frameworks include (1) “a general framework for a VC Entity’s creation of a firm-specific policy for the adoption or listing of a new coin, without DFS’s prior approval, through the process of self-certification” and (2) “a general framework for the process of Greenlisting coins for wider usage.”