New York State Department of Financial Services Grants Virtual Currency License to BitPay

Global blockchain payments provider BitPay has announced it has been granted a virtual currency license from the New York State Department of Financial Services.

The license will allow BitPay to provide services to companies and customers based in New York. Businesses will be able to use BitPay to accept payments in Bitcoin (BTC) from users around the globe.

BitPay is obviously pleased with the opportunity, becoming the first payment processor to secure a virtual currency license in the U.S state. The blockchain-based cryptocurrency payments provider boasts hundreds of thousands of businesses, including Microsoft, Newegg, and Virgin Galactic, as customers using their services.

“New York state has one of the strictest policies around businesses involved in cryptocurrency and working through the approval processes to obtain a License was important to BitPay,” said Stephen Pair, CEO of BitPay. “We believe this hard work will pay off as New York presents significant business opportunities for BitPay.”

New York is home to many of the world’s largest corporations, with Manhattan a major centre for banking and finance. The state of New York had a gross state product of $1.5 trillion dollars USD in 2015. Most U.S states only require cryptocurrency firms to have a money-transmission license to operate, in New York state a specific “BitLicense” is needed.

Though BitPay is reportedly the first payment processor to be granted a license, it’s one of under ten cryptocurrency companies to be granted a virtual currency license in New York. The others include Square, which now allows cryptocurrency trading, Xapo, Genesis Global Trading, bitFlyer USA, and Coinbase.

Using the BitPay platform, founded in 2011, users can make or accept payments using a computer or mobile device. Payment settlements arrive at their destination in dollars, within three business days, which also means that payment recipients don’t have to worry about holding volatile cryptocurrency values from payments. Something that often deters retailers from cryptocurrency acceptance.

Square Inc received its virtual currency license in June 2018, which led to Square’s share price rising to its then highest price to date. Square allows Bitcoin trading and fiat transfers for its users.