Ben Lawsky: NYDFS “Making Good Progress” Virtual Currency Regulation

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Regulations outlining so-called Bit-Licenses and regulations related to virtual currencies in the State of New York were set to be released “no later than the end of the second quarter of 2014,” but we haven’t yet heard a thing.

Until this afternoon.

New York State Department of Financial Services Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky took to social media (Twitter, specifically) to deliver a progress report of sorts on the work his Department is doing, adding that “good progress” is being made on the front.

Lawsky added in his tweet that he expects to have a proposal out in the next week, perhaps two.

DFS making good progress on virtual currency regs. Sorry for running slightly behind. Should have proposal out in next week or 2. #bitcoin

— Ben Lawsky (@BenLawsky) July 9, 2014

These regulations have been highly-anticipated in the crypto-currency community for a number of different reasons: chief of which is the importance of New York being the first State in the USA to piece together regulations at this level.

And members of the community are expecting it to be done right. These regulations will no doubt serve as a precedent for the time other states decide to follow suit in establishing their own rules.

The regulations are also expected to carry weight in the business community with the possibility of the aforementioned ‘BitLicense’, a potential requirement for companies dealing in the virtual currency space.

This license was discussed in January during a NYDFS “fact-finding” hearing that took place in New York City.

“Ultimately, it’s our expectation that the information we’ve gathered in this fact-finding effort will allow us to put forward, during the course of 2014, a proposed regulatory framework for virtual currency firms operating in New York,” said Lawsky at the time. “That is, in part, why we’re evaluating whether our agency should issue a so-called ‘BitLicense’ specifically tailored to virtual currencies.”

It will be interesting to see what comes from this, and it won’t be long now until we all find out.