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eToro obtains New York BitLicense and money transfer license; New York Department of Financial Services emphasizes enhanced enforcement capabilities

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eToro obtains New York BitLicense and money transfer license; New York Department of Financial Services emphasizes enhanced enforcement capabilities

eToro announced that it has obtained a BitLicense, with nearly all states in the United States now covered. The New York Department of Financial Services, which has been active recently, emphasized in a tweet that it has enhanced its ability to identify fraud in the crypto industry.

eToro Enters New York State

According to the announcement, eToro has announced that it has secured the BitLicense and money transmitter license from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS). This will allow users in New York State to trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, and options.

In fact, eToro had already entered the U.S. market back in 2018, with only Nevada and Minnesota remaining as the main states where they have not yet obtained licenses.

eToro has not disclosed the exact date when users in New York State will be able to access the platform officially.

BitLicense

The BitLicense was introduced by the New York State Department of Financial Services in June 2015. Along with eToro, there are now 33 regulated entities holding this license. The BitLicense is often seen as a costly regulatory license in the cryptocurrency space, causing many crypto companies to steer clear of New York State.

Following the FTX incident, regulatory bodies seem to have become more active. NYDFS subsequently updated its regulatory guidelines and targeted stablecoin issuer Paxos under BUSD, with PayPal also halting its stablecoin plans.

Ironically, Paxos was the first crypto company to obtain the BitLicense.

Although the regulatory guidelines were updated on 1/23, NYDFS announced that it will enhance its ability to detect fraud in the crypto industry across various departments.

The official statement on Twitter is quite brief, claiming that this will enable the regulatory body to detect potential insider trading, market manipulation, front-running, and other illegal activities.