Amid all the controversies surrounding BitLicense, the New York State Department of Financial Services has finally achieved a small win. This small win comes in the form of the first bitcoin license issued by the department to a digital currency services company, Circle.
The Boston based Circle Internet Financial Limited has become the first digital currency startup to receive BitLicense from New York regulators. Circle was founded in 2013 by Jeremy Allaire. Circle offers instantaneous bitcoin powered money transfer services. The company also has insurance coverage for all the user funds stored and/or being transacted over the platform.
The regulatory approval in the form of BitLicense now allows Circle to operate its mobile payments platform in the State of New York. Announcement of BitLicense approval couldn’t have come at a much better time as it coincided with the launch of Circle’s latest online service called CirclePay.
BitLicense has been criticized by most of the cryptocurrency companies due to the unrealistic requirements put forth by the Department of Financial Services for compliance. Many cryptocurrencies like ShapeShift.io. Eobot, Kraken etc. have already pulled out of New York instead of meeting the requirements put forth by the department for issuance of BitLicense.
According to reports a decent number of companies, mostly well-funded bitcoin businesses have already applied for BitLicense. Some of these companies include itBit, Gemini, Symbiont, CoinSetter and Consensys. Of the total 22 applications so far received by the New York State Department of Financial Services, one has been approved so far and the others can expect to receive approvals soon.
In order to receive BitLicense, applicants have to ensure compliance with all applicable AML and KYC regulations. They are also required to maintain certain recordkeeping standards and report to government on a regular basis. The BitLicense application costs $5000 with no guarantee of approval of the license to the applicant.