Xapo: New York's BitLicense Proposal Threatens Consumers
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,....
Related News
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.
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....
There's a variety of feelings surrounding the BitLicense proposal, and it seems like an overwhelming amount of folks just aren't pleased with where the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) is taking this whole initiative. That includes the Electronic Frontier Foundation. The non-profit organization focused on digital rights has established a new webpage spotlighting the BitLicense and, well, their attempts to get the proposal from moving forward. They write: The State of New York is proposing a "BitLicense" for people creating and innovating around virtual currencies like....
Genesis Mining is the latest company to announce its departure from New York, following the formal introduction of the state's BitLicense. In a blog post released yesterday, the cloud mining firm - which claims to serve over 50,000 customers - said it had no choice but to block anyone with a New York IP address from using its services. 'While advocates for the BitLicense say they want to protect consumers, what the act really does is stifle innovation. It's complex, expensive, and comes with a set of guidelines that make it nearly impossible for any startup to comply with.'