BitGo obtains key regulatory license to serve New York clients

Crypto custody services firm BitGo today received the New York Trust Charter, a key license, from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). The license will allow the firm to offer its custodial services to New York clients as a regulated entity under New York State Banking Law.

Given the number of New York-based financial companies, the regulatory approval could be critical to tap the interest of other investors. Moreover, the recent popularity of Bitcoin and crypto assets amid mainstream businesses has also allowed BitGo to acquire interest from certain companies based in New York. Mike Belshe, CEO of BitGo credited the growth to the influx of large financial services institutions that made the past year “exceptional” for BitGo and the digital asset markets overall.

What this will mean for BitGo New York Trust is regulatory oversight from NYSDFS, and KYC/AML compliance controls, among other services such as offline “Cold” storage of cryptographic keys in bank-grade Class III vaults.

BitGo applied for the coveted license in August last year. At the time, the company believed that new regulatory developments in the country such as the United States Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) decision to allow federally chartered banks to custody digital currencies, inspired them to apply for the regulatory approval.

Prior to this, in February 2020, the US-based crypto services firm launched custodial subsidiaries in Switzerland and Germany.