Thomas DiNapoli, the Comptroller of New York State, has voiced his concerns over the administration of BitLicense at the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). In a January report, DiNapoli only gave a “limited assurance” that the NYDFS is fulfilling its supervisory duties regarding BitLicense, a program that regulates digital currency licensing in the state.
DiNapoli highlighted a lack of thoroughness in the security checks of prospective licensees. His team’s research found that two out of eight tested applicants had not completed the fingerprinting process before their applications were approved. Furthermore, there was no provision of minimal net worth data or proof of the NYDFS’s capacity to verify applicants’ tax obligations.
The Comptroller’s Office also discovered that the NYDFS was supposed to conduct examinations of the licensee’s financial status and the viability of its businesses every two years. However, there was a three-year gap. DiNapoli has suggested the creation of official protocols for the examination follow-up procedure.
When a BitLicense is issued four years after the companies submitted their anti-money laundering documentation, it is likely that the documents were introduced more than four years ago. The NYDFS’s response to the audit was included in the document, stating that the agency has already identified this as an “area for improvement” and has implemented a template to monitor examination findings and follow-ups.
In response to these issues, the NYDFS established a BitLicense Examination Findings Tracking Procedure in April 2023. Out of the eight licensees sampled, only one received a tracking letter from the NYDFS.
Since 2015, cryptocurrency companies operating in New York are required to apply for a BitLicense with the NYDFS. Currently, there are 32 regulated entities on the list of licensees, including PayPal, BitPay, Circle, Coinbase, Gemini, and Paxos.
In other news, Russia has reversed its decision and abandoned plans for a national crypto exchange. Singaporean authorities have begun investigating Terraform Labs and Do Kwon. El Salvador’s President is planning to eliminate taxes on tech innovations. Lastly, a court in Denmark has ruled that taxes are now applicable on Bitcoin gains.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | North America |
| Countries | 🇺🇸 🇸🇬 🇸🇻 🇩🇰 |
| Sentiment | negative |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Thomas DiNapoli, Do Kwon |
| Companies | New York Department of Financial Services, BitPay, Gemini, Circle, Paxos, Coinbase, PayPal, Office of the Comptroller |
| Currencies | Bitcoin |
| Securities | None |
