Lawsky Outlines Revisions to New York’s BitLicense in DC Speech

Benjamin M. Lawsky announced the latest revisions to the draft BitLicense today in Washington, DC, presenting a host of changes in response to reactions from its public comment period.
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) superintendent delivered the news this morning during a keynote speech hosted by think tank Bipartisan Policy Center, where he touched on the regulatory landscape surrounding digital currencies and other payment technologies.
Lawsky first clarified which players in the digital currency community and industry would be required to obtain the BitLicense, specifying that the NYDFS intends to regulate only financial intermediaries.
Software developers, miners and those who issue loyalty and rewards schemes and gift cards denominated in fiat currency will not be required to obtain a BitLicense. The exemptions also apply to individuals who buy and hold virtual currency for personal investment, as well as virtual currency-accepting merchants and their customers.
Lawsky also said that the NYDFS has reduced the proposed record-keeping requirement for licensees from 10 to seven years, and eliminated a stipulation that licensees must obtain addresses and transaction data for all parties in a transaction.
Licensees now only need to obtain that information “for their own customers or account holders” and, to the extent possible, for “counterparties to the transaction”, according to the superintendent.

This post was published at Coin Desk on December 18, 2014.