Bitcoin Industry Leaders Sound Off on New York BitLicense Proposal
The release of the New York Department of Financial Services' (NYDFS) proposed regulatory framework for bitcoin companies operating in New York has brought mixed reaction within the digital currency industry. With varying viewpoints dominating Twitter and reddit throughout the day, CoinDesk reached out to a number of bitcoin and digital currency leaders to get their perspective on the proposed regulations. Throughout the discussions, pillar topics regarding the proposal emerged, largely centering around the document's clarity, its potential effect on other US states and the question of....
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Bitcoin company Xapo recently released its second comment letter on New York’s revised BitLicense. Additionally, the company has teamed up with other bitcoin industry leaders in submitting a combined comment letter to provide further feedback on the BitLicense proposal. After BitLicense was introduced by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) last year, Xapo released its first letter providing its comments. The NYDFS released its revised BitLicense proposal in February 25, 2015. Shortly afterward, on March 27, 2015 Xapo released its second BitLicense comments.
New York's proposed bitcoin regulations have been the subject of increasing criticism in recent weeks, with a wide variety of industry leaders coming forward to criticize the laws for their lack of clarity and for putting up unnecessary obstacles to the ecosysem's future growth. One element of the BitLicense proposal that has proved controversial is how it could be interpreted as applying to the developers of the more than 400 alternative digital currencies currently in circulation. For example, the draft rules published by the NYDFS stipulate that the regulations apply to all individuals....
The 45-day window for public comments on the New York Department of Financial Services' (NYDFS) recent BitLicense framework continues to shrink, but the barrage of reactions from those with an interest in the industry has yet to lose its momentum. Most recently, two research fellows from George Mason University's Mercatus Center co-authored a 14-page response to the BitLicense proposal, highlighting some of its most critical shortcomings. Jerry Brito and Eli Dourado made a point to laud NYDFS Superintendent Ben Lawsky for his department's "forward thinking" in outlining rules and....
On July 17, New York became the first state to attempt to regulate Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency (referred to as virtual currency in the proposal). New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) Superintendent Ben Lawsky announced the so-called BitLicense proposal on Reddit. While some in the Bitcoin community welcome regulation as a validation of Bitcoin's right to exist, the majority oppose it as the first roots of centralization. Beginning July 24, the public will have 45 days to give feedback to New York state regulators before the BitLicense draft is finalized. In true....
Xapo has announced that it will exclude customers residing in New York should the state's BitLicense proposal pass in its current form. Penned by founder and CEO Wences Casares, Xapo's blog post joins a growing chorus of bitcoin companies that have issued public statements on the matter. In August, on behalf of bitcoin services startup Circle, CEO Jeremy Allaire criticised issues in the proposal that he said could "discourage innovation". Casares builds on Allaire's arguments throughout, stating that while Xapo is not against smart regulation, New York's proposal overreaches. As a result,....