N.Y. Regulator Revises BitLicense Proposal

The New York Department of Financial Services has published revisions to the agency's proposed framework for regulating virtual currencies.

The changes, published Feb. 4, outline how the agency will move forward with the BitLicense plan it announced last summer. That plan would require virtual currency firms to obtain special licenses and hold higher levels of capital.

Superintendent Benjamin Lawsky outlined several of the revisions in a speech last month at the Washington-based Bipartisan Policy Center.

The revisions include details about licensing requirements for startups. The agency has proposed a two-year, transitional license for small businesses that don't initially meet the full licensing requirements.

The updated framework also includes a number of exemptions, including for software developers, currency miners and merchants that accept digital currency as payment.   

The latest revisions to the agency's regulatory proposal follow a public comment period, in which the agency received feedback from virtual currency firms and more than 3,700 consumers, Lawsky said in his speech.

The updated proposal is posted on the department's website.