New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) granted the much-coveted BitLicnese as well as a money transmitter license to Bakkt Marketplace. With these licenses, Bakkt will be able to offer New York-based customers to trade crypto assets,
Announcing the upcoming launch of the Bakkt App, the firm’s CEO Gavin Michael said the approval represented “a major milestone” to achieving their vision of “making digital assets accessible to all.”
Since 2015, NYDFS has granted 29 virtual currency licenses or trust charters. Last week, it awarded a key license – the New York Trust Charter – to crypto custody services firm BitGo .
Speaking positively about “responsible innovation,” Financial Services Superintendent Linda Lacewell made an interesting comment with regard to this approval. She said:
With new technology advancing every day, DFS is proud to be at the forefront of financial innovation through our continuous efforts to set the conditions for virtual currency companies to germinate and grow. Responsible innovation will blaze a path to a brighter future.
According to Superintendent Lacewell, awarding Bitlicense provides additional crypto options to New Yorkers “as the state continues to rebuild and recover.”
Earlier Bakkt’s institutional Bitcoin custody received authorization from DFS in 2019. The charter granted to Bakkt allowed the firm to provide Bitcoin custody services in conjunction with the launch of the asset’s futures contracts.
