Stablecoin issuer Paxos reportedly probed by New York regulators

cointelegraph.com:

Paxos Trust Company — the New York-based stablecoin issuer behind Binance USD (BUSD) and Paxos Dollar (USDP) — is reportedly being investigated by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS).

A “person familiar with the matter” told Bloomberg in a Feb. 10 report that the exact motive behind the probe is currently unclear.

An NYDFS spokesperson declined to comment on ongoing investigations but noted that the department is broadly working to protect consumers from risks associated with investing in the cryptocurrency market:

Paxos has issued BUSD — a U.S. Dollar-collateralized stablecoin — since the firm struck a partnership with Binance in September 2019. It is the third largest stablecoin, with a market cap currently exceeding $16 billion.

It is also the creator of the Paxos Dollar (USDP) which was launched in 2018. Today it is the sixth largest stablecoin with a market cap of about $875 billion, according to CoinGecko, and is the founder of PAX Gold (PAXG), a gold-backed-Ethereum token.

The company is also behind digital asset exchange itBit, which it launched in 2012 alongside the founding of Paxos.

The NYDFS issued Paxos with “BitLicense” in 2015, which legally permits companies to conduct digital currency-related activities in the state of New York.

Paxos recently refuted rumors that the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) may order Paxos to withdraw its application for its full banking charter, despite the firm only receiving a preliminary approval in April, 2021.

To clarify speculation: Paxos has not been asked to withdraw its application for a national trust bank charter from the OCC, nor has it been denied the charter. Paxos continues to work constructively with the OCC.

Paxos also claims on