New York regulator NYDFS issues SoL's virtual currency trading license BitLicense, giving consumers more options

The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) revealed in a statement on December 3 that California-based financial company SoFi has obtained a BitLicense license from the regulator.

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Since BitLicense was officially launched in 2015, 24 crypto-related companies have obtained this license, and SoFi is now one of them.

Specifically, SoFi has obtained two licenses-a virtual currency license (BitLicense) and a currency transfer license-which will allow SoFi's Digital Assets division to provide cryptocurrency trading services to its New York customers.

According to the announcement, the company is authorized to support a total of six digital assets, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC) and Stellar (XLM ).

Customer demand for strong regulations

NYDFS principal Linda Lacewell noted that the regulator is committed to promoting innovation in the New York crypto ecosystem and states:

"The department's approval of SoFi's application for virtual currency and currency transfer permits provides consumers with more options in a growing global financial services market."

SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said the decision to apply for BitLicense was a response to customer needs:

"Putting the interests of members at the top of SoFi is our number one priority, including providing individuals with the products they want (such as cryptocurrencies in SoFi Invest), as well as a solid regulatory framework created by, for example, NYDFS . "

The news comes after the company announced in September that it launched a zero-fee cryptocurrency transaction on its platform, SoFi Invest. Since February 2019, SoFi has partnered with Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange and wallet service in the United States, to launch fee-free transactions for BTC, ETH, and LTC.

BitLicense is an important cryptocurrency commercial license with various terms and conditions, such as setting rules for the use, control, management, maintenance, storage and issuance of digital currency. Earlier this year, NYDFS awarded BitLicense to two subsidiaries of Seed CX, a crypto derivatives company, Seed Digital Commodities Market LLC and Zero Hash LLC.

According to a report yesterday, Figure Technologies, a blockchain financial services startup founded by SoFi founder and former CEO Mike Cagney, has raised about $ 59 million in a new round of financing. According to the declaration, the target fundraising amount for this round of financing is $ 103 million, that is, there are still more than $ 44 million of funds to be raised. This round of financing is still underway and is expected to end within one year.

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