Paypal becomes first entity to receive Bitlicense in New York State

NEW YORK (WWTI) — Paypal has officially become the first approved entity for a conditional Bitlicense in New York State.

The New York State Superintendent of Financial Servic Linda Lacewall officially announced that Paypal, Inc., has received approval from the New York State Department of Financial Services. The approval will grant PayPal, Inc., with a conditional Bitlicense.

According to the DFS, PayPal will partner with Paxos Trust Company to launch new services, enabling customers to buy, sell and hold certain cryptocurrencies. Approved virtual currencies include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin.

“DFS’ approval today follows our June 2020 announcement for a new framework for a conditional Bitlicense to encourage, promote, and assist interested institutions to have a well-regulated way to access the New York virtual currency marketplace in a way that is both timely and protective of New York consumers, through partnerships with New York authorized virtual currency firms,” said Superintendent Lacewell. “DFS will continue to encourage and support financial service providers to operate, grow, remain and expand in New York and work with innovators to enable them to  germinate and test their ideas, for a dynamic and forward looking financial services sector, especially as we work to build New York back better in the midst of this pandemic.” 

Through approval by the Department of Financial Services, New York State chartered Paxos will be able to provide trading and custodial services to PayPal to enable PayPal customers to buy, sell, and hold, virtual currency.

“We are proud to become the first company to receive a conditional virtual currency license from the New York State Department of Financial Services,” said PayPal CEO and President Dan Schulman. “This approval represents an important step forward in our goal to contribute to the evolution of the regulatory framework for digital currency and help our consumers safely and responsibly engage with cryptocurrencies.” 

Including the announcement made on October 21,2020, the DFS has approved 26 entities to engage in virtual currency business activities in New York State.