The person responsible for the introduction of BitLicense in the State of New York, Benjamin Lawsky is now watching over a company that works in the very sector he reigned in while he held the office. The former superintendent of the New York Department of Financial Services is reported to have joined hands with AXONI, a company that offers blockchain solutions to financial institutions.
The reports about Benjamin Lawsky and his firm’s connection with AXONI surfaced after his firm, the Lawsky Group was mentioned as the press contact in one of its press releases. The press release with the contact information was released to report the completion of blockchain project and its test run with top institutions like Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Citi, Credit Suisse and JP Morgan.
While in office, Benjamin Lawsky had gained a reputation of being called the Sheriff of Wall Street, mainly because of his stance towards the banking and bitcoin industries. Soon after the end of his tenure, he went back to private practice, representing several bitcoin and blockchain companies. His stance against digital currency and the introduction of the BitLicense has been detrimental to the bitcoin ecosystem in the state. Soon after the introduction of BitLicense, many bitcoin companies moved out of the State of New York.
There have been speculations that Benjamin Lawsky opened up more avenues for himself after his term in the office by introducing the BitLicense legislation. Some of them have also suspected him to be advising bitcoin companies on how to get BitLicense for their businesses. This was later refuted by Benjamin Lawsky saying that he is barred from advising on the regulations passed by him, including BitLicense and he will abide by it.
Whether he advises his clients about BitLicense or not, but his role as the superintendent of New York State Department of Financial Services who passed BitLicense has opened a lot of new avenues in the Bitcoin and Blockchain ecosystem.