American stock brokerage Robinhood Crypto has officially launched its zero-fee crypto trading app in New York, the company announced in a blog post on May 23. Following the acquisition of a BitLicense by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) in January 2019, Robinhood now allows New York citizens to trade in seven major cryptos with no commission fee using its Robinhood Crypto platform. From now, the Robinhood Crypto service is available in 39 states in the United States, including California, Washington and Florida, among others. The Robinhood trading app allows for the trading of bitcoin (BTC), ethereum …

Intercontinental Exchange (ICE)-lead institutional cryptocurrency trading platform Bakkt is considering acquiring a New York BitLicense to launch its bitcoin futures, Bloomberg reports on April 18. Bakkt has seen resistance from the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to approve its bitcoin futures because of its intentions to custody user’s assets. Bloomberg quotes anonymous sources familiar with the situation, stating that to ease the concerns of the regulator, the company is considering acquiring a license from New York financial regulators. The CFTC recognizes state bank and trust licenses and could potentially allow the listing of futures if Bakkt obtained a …

The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has denied a BitLicense application from the Bittrex cryptocurrency exchange on April 10. In a letter to Bittrex CEO Bill Shihara, NYDFS explained that the exchange had inadequate policies and controls regarding Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Know Your Customer (KYC) and Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) standards. Bittrex applied for its BitLicense — which is required to conduct virtual currency related business in the state of New York — in August, 2015. Bittrex had been operating under the terms of a “safe harbor” permitted by NYDFS while the regulator considered its application. …

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has granted a BitLicense to institutional-grade crypto trading platform Tagomi Trading, according to an official press release on March 27. Tagomi Trading, a subsidiary of Tagomi Holdings, is now legally authorized to trade virtual currency assets and to engage in money transmission. The company is allowed to offer trade routing and order execution services for non-security virtual currencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), the statement notes. The firm’s parent company, Tagomi Holdings, was launched by PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm in December 2018. …

Recently the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) granted statewide virtual currency licenses to two applicants: stock trading service Robinhood and cryptocurrency ATM operator LibertyX. The state’s regulatory regime, commonly known as BitLicense, imposes a set of strict disclosure and consumer-protection requirements on any business that offers cryptocurrency-related services to New York residents. Since the framework was introduced in 2015, only a handful of companies had their applications approved by the NYDFS: The elite club of BitLicense holders now counts just 16 entities, the two newcomers included. The state has also demonstrated that it keeps close tabs on those …

The Canadian House Finance Committee has recommended that the government start regulating cryptocurrencies to prevent money laundering, Canadian digital newspaper iPolitics reports Nov. 14. According to iPolitics, the Canadian House Finance Committee suggested that cryptocurrencies should be regulated during its review of the Proceeds of Crime Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act (PCMLTFA), which occurs once every five year. The committee held 18 meetings for the PCMLTFA review, which started in February. As a result of the review, the committee put forward three ways for the government to regulate cryptocurrencies. The first recommendation is to control the exchange from fiat …

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has granted a BitLicense to NYDIG Execution, according to an official DFS announcement published Nov. 14. NYDIG Execution, a subsidiary of the New York Digital Investment Group LLC (NYDIG), is now legally authorized to operate cryptocurrency-related business and to conduct money transmissions. Through the recent license, the firm is permitted to offer crypto custodial and trade execution services in the jurisdiction of New York state. NYDIG will be allowed to operate as a crypto custodian for five cryptocurrencies; Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), XRP (Ripple), and Litecoin (LTC). According …

Cointelegraph recently had the chance to speak with Pierre-Edouard Wahl, the head of blockchain digital services at PwC Switzerland, about the future potential of blockchain in the country. Wahl, who noted that PwC Switzerland worked closely with main Swiss stock exchange SIX on their announcement of a future distributed ledger-based digital asset exchange, elaborated on his beliefs that crypto must be used in order to go mainstream enough to give people back control of their digital footprints. This interview has been edited and condensed. Molly Jane: Could you tell us how you got interested in the blockchain and cryptocurrency space? …

Financial services provider Square has received a BitLicense from the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), according to a press release published today, June 18. As a result, Bitcoin (BTC) trading is now available to New York users of Square’s Cash App, according to Cash App’s Twitter. Cash App released a Bitcoin option at the end of January to almost all of its users, originally excluding those in New York, Georgia, and Hawaii. With Square’s Point of Sale (PoS) network, adding a Bitcoin option means that merchants using Square could potentially accept Bitcoin as a form of payment. The …

The recent approval of Genesis Global Trading’s BitLicense application has shone fresh light on New York State’s relationship with the cryptocurrency industry. Although New York is historically a business-friendly center and international financial hub, many industry players have criticized the regulatory requirements enforced by the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) through the BitLicense since its release date in 2015. Most of these criticisms were confirmed in a round table held earlier this year by New York State senators Jesse Hamilton and David Carlucci, who invited cryptocurrency companies to raise their concerns about the BitLicense. Stakeholders reiterated that …

P2P payments technology company Circle announced that they rolled out the latest addition to its “family” — the cryptocurrency investment app Circle Invest — to most of the US on Tuesday, March 13. In a blog post and email sent to customers, Circle, which is one of a handful of businesses to have received a New York BitLicense, confirmed its crypto investment platform would be available in “early access” form to US citizens in 46 states. Minnesota, Wyoming and Hawaii remain excluded due to regulatory red tape, while New York will gain access “very soon”, the company said. The unveiling …

Since the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) launched its new means of regulating companies operating in the cryptocurrency industry, BitLicense, eight months ago in June 2015, the regulatory process has only approved one application. Launched to foster acceptance by administrative bodies When it was announced that the NYDFS was launching its BitLicense programme in New York, the news was met with positive remarks by leading industry professionals. Many take the view that regulation, although it may limit the cryptocurrency industry temporarily, is in reality hugely beneficial as it means there is growing acceptance by administrative bodies, and …