Last week, I wrote a piece titled: New York Banking Regulator Benjamin Lawsky Thinks Mt. Gox Collapse Could Help Bitcoin. In it, I speculated that Lawsky was positioning New York to emerge as a primary global Bitcoin trading hub. While certain comments from Lawsky in the past have rubbed me the wrong way, he seems to be taking a very intelligent and overall rational approach to Bitcoin and crypto-currencies in general. He is treating it as a technological innovation that can help the world (as well as New York’s economy in particular), something that will bear fruit by creating and nurturing a dynamic start-up community.
Today we learn from Bloomberg that:
New York financial regulators said they will immediately begin accepting applications to operate exchanges for Bitcoin and other digital currencies to help speed the development of rules for that market.
Benjamin Lawsky, the superintendent of financial services, announced the move in a statement today, saying his office will propose a set of rules for virtual-currency firms by the end of the second quarter.
The collapse of Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based exchange for Bitcoin, the most popular digital currency, shows the need for “robust standards for consumer protection, cyber security and anti-money laundering compliance,” he said. “We will continue to proceed swiftly and thoughtfully to provide rules of the road for reputable virtual currency firms seeking to conduct business on-shore in a responsible manner.”
Phase 2 of Bitcoin continues…
Full article here.
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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Hi Michael, I too believe that Ben Lawsky is taking a very welcomed positive and encouraging attitude towards bitcoin and that he clearly sees the need to take as light a regulation approach as possible.
Ideas are moving very fast within the bitcoin community on self-verifying best practice management – by real-time ‘mulit-actor voting pools’ – auditing balances and trading volumes to give certainty and confidence to new entrants.
We are entering exciting times, as bitcoin really hits the transition point where the continuation of ‘tulip bubble’ and ‘ponzi-fraud’ type criticisms can finally be left behind us.