The online payment processing company Square has been issued a license by the New York State Department of Financial Services, becoming the seventh company to obtain a BitLicense.
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced[1] Monday that it has issued a BitLicense[2] to Square, the online credit card payment processing company. While Square began supporting buying and selling of bitcoin earlier this year[3], this new license will allow it to expand this service into New York state.
Square becomes the seventh company to have obtained a BitLicense, following closely on the heels of the issuance of a license to Xapo[4]. Two other cryptocurrency companies have obtained charters from the DFS.
In the press release, DFS superintendent Maria Vullo said:
"DFS continues to work in support of a vibrant and competitive virtual currency market that connects and empowers New Yorkers in a global marketplace while ensuring strong state-regulatory oversight is in place."
Square was co-founded by Jack Dorsey, who is also the CEO of Twitter. He has been a vocal proponent of bitcoin, having expressed a hope for the cryptocurrency to become the "native, global currency[5]" of the internet. The profits Square has made from bitcoin have so far been lackluster[6], but the company's stock jumped[7] following the announcement of the BitLicense issuance.
Tim Prentiss is a writer and editor for ETHNews. He has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno. He lives in Reno with his daughter. In his spare time he writes songs and disassembles perfectly good electronic devices.
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