Bitcoin Startups Stuck in Limbo as BitLicense Process Drags On
Finalized in June of 2015, New York’s BitLicense regulation was heralded as a potential boon for an industry then struggling to shake its stigma as the unregulated ‘Wild West’ of the financial industry. More than six months after the deadline for application filings, however, the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has yet to emerge as a regular newsmaker in the industry. The NYDFS has only issued one BitLicense under the regulatory framework, which it provided to bitcoin services firm Circle in September 2015. According to figures provided to CoinDesk by the NYDFS,....
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New York has started implementing its BitLicense recently, much to the dismay of bitcoin startups that are unable to come up with enough funds to obtain licenses for its products. In fact, Poloniex, a NY-based bitcoin exchange, recently decided to move its operations elsewhere due to the limitations imposed by the regulatory framework. BitLicense was drafted and put in force by the New York Department of Financial Services under the leadership of former head Benjamin Lawsky. After its implementation, Lawsky then resigned from his post to form a consultancy group. BitLicense and Bitcoin....
In the aftermath of the BitLicense application deadline this week, a number of prominent bitcoin companies have ceased operations in New York. Although the reasons behind startups' reluctance to apply for a license are varied, cost has played a significant part. Of those who did apply - and fronted the $5,000 non-refundable application fee, most have alluded to an arduous process and high costs. But just how much did their expenditure amount to? CoinDesk has spoken to various companies in the space to breakdown the cost of the BitLicense application process both in monetary and....
Poloniex, a U. S. -based cryptocurrency exchange, has left New York due to the restrictions and limitations of the state's BitLicense. Including Poloniex, three bitcoin startups have shut down their operations in New York during the past few months and declined to comply with BitLicense, a set of rules that restricts operations of Bitcoin exchanges and demands startups to pay fees to operate legally. Size. For a relatively small exchange or startup like Poloniex, BitLicense's requirement for Bitcoin startups to pay a $5,000 non-refundable application fee to operate and continue their....
The new BitLicense will open for a 30-day public comment period in just a few days. In a speech to the Bipartisan Policy Council, a Washington D. C. think tank, New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) Superintendent Ben Lawsky told the world about the new BitLicense's impending release date as well as several planned changes. Also read: NYDFS's Ben Lawsky Reveals Plan for Transitional BitLicense at #Money2020. Changes in the new BitLicense. Notably, a new BitLicense is not required for consumers or merchants seeking to transact in Bitcoin; furthermore, Bitcoin-related software....
BitLicense has been a huge pain to many bitcoin and digital currency based startups operating in the State of New York. Once BitLicense was made mandatory and the deadline to apply for BitLicense surpassed, few of the companies decided to withdraw their services from New York while other companies who considered New York to be an important market decided to stick on and apply for it. Circle, a bitcoin based money transfer application was one among the many bitcoin companies that applied for BitLicense and recently it went on to become the first company to receive BitLicense from New York....