New York wants crypto companies to pay their own way

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

New York has a love/hate with cryptocurrency. It’s the only state that requires companies in the industry to obtain a separate license, the BitLicense, to operate, while recognizing that digital currency is legitimate. There is even talk of the state issuing its own quasi-crypto, minus the decentralization, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo now believes that companies should take a more vested interest in their activity if they want to operate within the state’s borders. Cuomo has proposed changes to New York’s Financial Services Law (FSL) that would require those entities to cover all expenses related to regulation and licensing.

In Cuomo’s State of the State (in pdf) plan, he explains that there are gaps in the oversight of companies licensed under the Bank Law and Insurance Law, and those covered by the FSL. Entities covered by either of the first two are obligated to provide payments to the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to cover their regulatory costs, but this isn’t the case for those covered by the FSL. The governor wants to amend the FSL in order to close these gaps.

While the plan doesn’t specifically mention cryptocurrency businesses, they’re regulated by the NYDFS and the FSL. This can only mean that they would be subject to the same regulations as any other entity under the FSL’s guidance.

No mention is made about how much any costs would be, or when the plan might be put into action. Nor does it indicate if businesses already licensed would have to pay any retroactive fees, or if they would automatically be grandfathered into the policy. The governor’s office is now accepting public comments on the proposals, with any input expected on or before January 27.

Several lawmakers in New York, along with a law professor from Cornell, have introduced a plan that would see a statewide digital currency become active. Dubbed “public Venmo,” the project would introduce an electronic banking platform and a digital currency that would be available for use across the state.

According to Vice, Public Venmo is the brainchild of Senator Julia Salazar, Assemblyman Ron Kim and Cornell law professor Robert Hockett. Kim explains, “I believe that our proposal, the Inclusive Value Ledger, has the potential to be truly revolutionary,” Kim said in a public statement. “The creation of a free public savings and payment platform that all New Yorkers can use, not only to pay for goods and services but also to transfer money directly to each other through, could fundamentally reshape New York into a fairer, healthier, wealthier, and more inclusive place for all.”

As opposed to other digital currencies, Venmo wouldn’t be completely decentralized. It would be issued, monitored and regulated by a central government-led entity that maintains a government-controlled master wallet.