February 2, 2017

New York State Department of Financial Services Grants Virtual Currency License to Coinbase, Inc.

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The NYSDFS approved the application of Coinbase, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Coinbase Global, Inc., for a virtual currency and a money transmitter license. As part of its review of Coinbase’s application, NYSDFS analyzed the company’s anti-money laundering, capitalization, consumer protection and cyber security policies. Coinbase, which is subject to ongoing supervision by NYSDFS, offers services for buying, selling, sending, receiving and storing bitcoin.

NYSDFS approved five firms for virtual currency charters or licenses, while denying other applications that did not meet NYSDFS’s standards. In addition to Coinbase, NYSDFS granted licenses to XRP II and Circle Internet Financial and charters to Gemini Trust Company and itBit Trust Company. ChangeCoin Inc., Ovo Cosmico Inc., Snapcard Inc. and OKLink PTE. LTD. each received application denial letters ordering them to stop any New York operations.

NYSDFS has previously licensed technology-based money transmitters under New York’s money transmitter law, online lenders under New York’s banking law and virtual currency exchanges under New York’s financial services law.

View NYSDFS press release.

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