Genesis Global Trading Gets New York's 5th 'BitLicense' Ever
- Shapeshift CEO Erik Vorhees said that New York's progress with the BitLicense was 'pathetic.'

In the midst of a series of minor regulatory moves by the New York State government regarding cryptocurrency, Genesis Global Trading has been granted a BitLicense by the Department of Financial Services. Genesis is the fifth firm to have been granted a BitLicense since the program’s inception in 2015.
Earlier this week, the state granted authorization to the Gemini Trust Co. exchange to offer Zcash trading options, making Gemini the world’s first licensed Zcash exchange.
The following day, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced the launch of a Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamper with. The Evolution of BlockchainBlockchain was originally invented by an individual or group of people under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. The purpose of blockchain was originally to serve as the public transaction ledger of Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency.In particular, bundles of transaction data, called “blocks”, are added to the ledger in a chronological fashion, forming a “chain.” These blocks include things like date, time, dollar amount, and (in some cases) the public addresses of the sender and the receiver.The computers responsible for upholding a blockchain network are called “nodes.” These nodes carry out the duties necessary to confirm the transactions and add them to the ledger. In exchange for their work, the nodes receive rewards in the form of crypto tokens.By storing data via a peer-to-peer network (P2P), blockchain controls for a wide range of risks that are traditionally inherent with data being held centrally.Of note, P2P blockchain networks lack centralized points of vulnerability. Consequently, hackers cannot exploit these networks via normalized means nor does the network possess a central failure point.In order to hack or alter a blockchain’s ledger, more than half of the nodes must be compromised. Looking ahead, blockchain technology is an area of extensive research across multiple industries, including financial services and payments, among others. Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamper with. The Evolution of BlockchainBlockchain was originally invented by an individual or group of people under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. The purpose of blockchain was originally to serve as the public transaction ledger of Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency.In particular, bundles of transaction data, called “blocks”, are added to the ledger in a chronological fashion, forming a “chain.” These blocks include things like date, time, dollar amount, and (in some cases) the public addresses of the sender and the receiver.The computers responsible for upholding a blockchain network are called “nodes.” These nodes carry out the duties necessary to confirm the transactions and add them to the ledger. In exchange for their work, the nodes receive rewards in the form of crypto tokens.By storing data via a peer-to-peer network (P2P), blockchain controls for a wide range of risks that are traditionally inherent with data being held centrally.Of note, P2P blockchain networks lack centralized points of vulnerability. Consequently, hackers cannot exploit these networks via normalized means nor does the network possess a central failure point.In order to hack or alter a blockchain’s ledger, more than half of the nodes must be compromised. Looking ahead, blockchain technology is an area of extensive research across multiple industries, including financial services and payments, among others. Read this Term Resource Center and a blockchain app development contest.
Just announced at #Consensus2018: NYC is launching new initiatives to support the growing #blockchain industry! The NYC Blockchain Resource Center will serve as a physical hub for the industry and the @nycbigapps competition will be blockchain focused. pic.twitter.com/JcTtagNVqc
— NYCEDC (@NYCEDC) May 14, 2018
It’s possible that the timing of these actions is not entirely coincidental--in some ways, the blockchain industry’s global spotlight has been placed on New York this week because of CoinDesk’s Consensus conference. The NYCEDC’s announcements were delivered in a speech at the conference by NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett.
In the same speech, Patchett said that there is“no city in the world that’s better positioned to lead the way in blockchain.”
New York Has a Ways to Go Before Regulations Are Working Appropriately
Indeed, it seems that New York is attempting to take the national lead in developing appropriate cryptocurrency regulations. The BitLicense program is likely the most prominent example of this, although the program has come under criticism for stifling startup growth, among other things.
"For large [companies], the costs [associated with BitLicense acquisition] are coffee money, for a small business the costs are crazy,” Software developer Steve B told CoinDesk in a February report. “The requirements are not practical."
"That's the rate of innovation in New York," he retorted. CoinDesk reported that several exchanges have halted operations in New York state, including Shapeshift and Kraken.
#Consensus2018 "In #NewYork it is illegal to sell #cryptokitties without a #bitlicense - @ErikVoorhees
— BlockExplorer (@MyBlockExplorer) May 15, 2018
Lawmakers are reportedly already working on reforming the BitLicense program, though it's unclear when changes will be implemented.
In the midst of a series of minor regulatory moves by the New York State government regarding cryptocurrency, Genesis Global Trading has been granted a BitLicense by the Department of Financial Services. Genesis is the fifth firm to have been granted a BitLicense since the program’s inception in 2015.
Earlier this week, the state granted authorization to the Gemini Trust Co. exchange to offer Zcash trading options, making Gemini the world’s first licensed Zcash exchange.
The following day, the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) announced the launch of a Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamper with. The Evolution of BlockchainBlockchain was originally invented by an individual or group of people under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. The purpose of blockchain was originally to serve as the public transaction ledger of Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency.In particular, bundles of transaction data, called “blocks”, are added to the ledger in a chronological fashion, forming a “chain.” These blocks include things like date, time, dollar amount, and (in some cases) the public addresses of the sender and the receiver.The computers responsible for upholding a blockchain network are called “nodes.” These nodes carry out the duties necessary to confirm the transactions and add them to the ledger. In exchange for their work, the nodes receive rewards in the form of crypto tokens.By storing data via a peer-to-peer network (P2P), blockchain controls for a wide range of risks that are traditionally inherent with data being held centrally.Of note, P2P blockchain networks lack centralized points of vulnerability. Consequently, hackers cannot exploit these networks via normalized means nor does the network possess a central failure point.In order to hack or alter a blockchain’s ledger, more than half of the nodes must be compromised. Looking ahead, blockchain technology is an area of extensive research across multiple industries, including financial services and payments, among others. Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tamper with. The Evolution of BlockchainBlockchain was originally invented by an individual or group of people under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. The purpose of blockchain was originally to serve as the public transaction ledger of Bitcoin, the world’s first cryptocurrency.In particular, bundles of transaction data, called “blocks”, are added to the ledger in a chronological fashion, forming a “chain.” These blocks include things like date, time, dollar amount, and (in some cases) the public addresses of the sender and the receiver.The computers responsible for upholding a blockchain network are called “nodes.” These nodes carry out the duties necessary to confirm the transactions and add them to the ledger. In exchange for their work, the nodes receive rewards in the form of crypto tokens.By storing data via a peer-to-peer network (P2P), blockchain controls for a wide range of risks that are traditionally inherent with data being held centrally.Of note, P2P blockchain networks lack centralized points of vulnerability. Consequently, hackers cannot exploit these networks via normalized means nor does the network possess a central failure point.In order to hack or alter a blockchain’s ledger, more than half of the nodes must be compromised. Looking ahead, blockchain technology is an area of extensive research across multiple industries, including financial services and payments, among others. Read this Term Resource Center and a blockchain app development contest.
Just announced at #Consensus2018: NYC is launching new initiatives to support the growing #blockchain industry! The NYC Blockchain Resource Center will serve as a physical hub for the industry and the @nycbigapps competition will be blockchain focused. pic.twitter.com/JcTtagNVqc
— NYCEDC (@NYCEDC) May 14, 2018
It’s possible that the timing of these actions is not entirely coincidental--in some ways, the blockchain industry’s global spotlight has been placed on New York this week because of CoinDesk’s Consensus conference. The NYCEDC’s announcements were delivered in a speech at the conference by NYCEDC President and CEO James Patchett.
In the same speech, Patchett said that there is“no city in the world that’s better positioned to lead the way in blockchain.”
New York Has a Ways to Go Before Regulations Are Working Appropriately
Indeed, it seems that New York is attempting to take the national lead in developing appropriate cryptocurrency regulations. The BitLicense program is likely the most prominent example of this, although the program has come under criticism for stifling startup growth, among other things.
"For large [companies], the costs [associated with BitLicense acquisition] are coffee money, for a small business the costs are crazy,” Software developer Steve B told CoinDesk in a February report. “The requirements are not practical."
"That's the rate of innovation in New York," he retorted. CoinDesk reported that several exchanges have halted operations in New York state, including Shapeshift and Kraken.
#Consensus2018 "In #NewYork it is illegal to sell #cryptokitties without a #bitlicense - @ErikVoorhees
— BlockExplorer (@MyBlockExplorer) May 15, 2018
Lawmakers are reportedly already working on reforming the BitLicense program, though it's unclear when changes will be implemented.