Did Bitstamp USA Get The BitLicense?

According to the official press release that was published by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) on April 9th, US-based subsidiary of Bitstamp, a major European crypto exchange has recently been granted a virtual currency license from New York state’s financial regulator. The license which is known as a BitLicense, has been awarded to the subsidiary of the Luxembourg-registered exchange, by the NYDFS.

The press release elaborates that Bitstamp USA is the nineteenth firm to have received a green signal from the department to conduct digital currency operations in New York state. To be specific, the license will enable Bitstamp to run services that let customers buy and sell Bitcoins, as well as other cryptocurrencies in exchange for US Dollars. The press release reads that it will

“Facilitate transfers of funds onto the Ripple Network, issuing Ripple Balances in USD, other virtual currencies, and select fiat currencies, including the Australian Dollar, British Pound, Euro, Swiss Franc, and Japanese Yen.”

NYDFS’ statement outlines that its licensing regime is made to oversee and supervise virtual currency exchanges under New York’s financial services law. Bitstamp, on acquiring the license joins other high-profile crypto industry firms such as Square, BitPay, Genesis Global Trading, bitFlyer USA, Coinbase, XRP II and Circle Internet Financial.

The Review Process for a Bitlicense involves a thorough examination of a company’s Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) compliance as well as the anti-fraud, capitalization and cybersecurity policies.

Not all industry members have embraced the state’s exacting regulatory regime, which has been in force since 2015. American crypto exchange Kraken stopped offering their services to the residents of New York, last year, as they found the state’s stringent BitLicense “a creature so foul, so cruel that not even Kraken possesses the courage or strength to face its nasty, big, pointy teeth.”

Bitstamp was acquired by Belgium-based investment firm NXMH — which however is owned by South Korean media conglomerate NXC Corp. At press time, Bitstamp is ranked the 47th largest exchange globally by adjusted daily traded volume, seeing around $105.6 million in trades over the 24 hours to press time.

Rishma Banerjee

Rishma is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and has a special place in her life for sifting through all sorts of random trivia, thank you very much.