New York Mayor urges state to abandon ‘stifling' BitLicense scheme
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has hit out at his states’ BitLicensing regime, claiming that it stifles innovation and economic growth.
In a closing keynote interview at the Crypto and Digital Assets Summit in London on April 27, Adams suggested his state legislature counterparts in Albany “listen to those who are in the industry” adding:
Adams is a crypto advocate who ran for mayor planning to turn New York City into the “center of the cryptocurrency industry” and took his first three paychecks in Bitcoin (BTC). In the interview he said cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are the “next chapters in the future” and the opportunity shouldn't be squandered.
Since 2015, any “virtual currency business” wishing to offer services within New York requires a BitLicense to do so. According to the states’ Department of Financial Services (DFS) the license ensures that its residents have a “well-regulated way to access the virtual currency marketplace” and that the state remains at the “center of technological innovation and forward-looking regulation”.
Many crypto firms moved from New York when the license was introduced and recent calls to remove regulatory barriers and ease restrictions often focus on the license, which costs $5,000 in application fees along with unclear capital requirements set by the DFS.
Related: What can Eric Adams do? The limits of turning New York City into a crypto hub
In the state capital, lawmakers take an altogether stricter regulatory approach to the cryptocurrency industry than Adams would. On Tuesday the New York State Assembly passed a bill to the Senate which would place a two-year ban all on all new proof-of-work (PoW) cryptocurrency mining facilities using carbon energy.
On April 9 Governor
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