New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) announced that they have so far received 22 bona fide applications for the BitLicense in order to engage in the virtual currency business in the greater New York state area.
On Thursday, Matt Anderson, the NYDFS deputy superintendent for public affairs, told the media that the double digit number of applications shows optimism and “substantial interest” among business dealing with Bitcoin.
Although some major Bitcoin merchants have expressed their concerns about this new regulation and decided to opt-out of the New York market altogether, Matt Anderson told the media that this broad regulatory framework would “ultimately” encourage the business community to embrace the use of Bitcoin.
“In the long term, we think this is going to be helpful and I think there’ll ultimately be some sort of shaking the wheat from the chaff. We think that those companies that want to do business with strong consumer protections and strong regulatory requirements will continue to submit applications,” he commented.
Matt Anderson also mentioned that Bitcoin exchanges like Kraken and Bitfinex can still apply for the BitLicense at a later date, if they choose to do so, and the New York Department of Financial Services would be open to suggestions regarding how to make the new regulation work for both the Bitcoin dealers and consumers in the New York.
Earlier in March 2015, the New York Department of Financial Services had set the deadline to August 8, 2015, for virtual currency merchants to apply for a BitLicense to continue serving New York residents.
At that time, Superintendent of NYDF, Benjamin M. Lawsky, expressed his concerns regarding the “problems at Mt. Gox” and argued that there is a “need for stronger oversight of virtual currency exchanges, including robust standards for consumer protection, cyber security, and anti-money laundering compliance.”
He also appealed to the Bitcoin users to “understand and receive appropriate disclosures about the potential risks associated with using virtual currencies or any other financial product.”
As a significant number of Bitcoin exchanges have applied for the BitLicense, it would be interesting to see how this new development affects the Bitcoin community in the coming months.
