It has been a while since the Department of Financial Services (DFS) in New York has been working with the cryptocurrency industry.
The regulatory authority has put in a lot of effort for the fair treatment of the cryptocurrency entities in the state. Most importantly, it has been working tirelessly for the regulation of the crypto sector in the area.
The DFS wants to be paid
Turns out, the Department of Financial Services is now eager to get paid for its services and efforts put into the cryptocurrency industry.
The DFS has reportedly submitted a proposal where it has demanded to make changes to the state laws pertaining to its role in the cryptocurrency industry.
As per the proposal, the regulator now wants to be paid by the cryptocurrency companies that it regulates. The charge would be implemented against the crypto firms to which the DFS issues licenses to.
An Odd Yet Common Practice of DFS
This is something that may seem very odd to the entire cryptocurrency industry. Currently, there is no other regulatory authority in the rest of the United States that charges crypto firms for regulating them.
There is not even a single regulator that has been reported for charging cryptocurrency agencies for their regulation.
While it is an odd occurrence for the cryptocurrency industry, it is not an odd one for the DFS. The particular regulatory authority is known for charging the non-crypto firms that it regulates.
For non-crypto financial firms to operate in the state of New York, it is important to acquire an operating license. The DFS charges them for the acquisition of the license.
The DFS is not doing this without any legal approval. Instead, the Financial Services Law (FSL) covers the activity carried out by the regulator.
However, the regulator is aiming to do the same for cryptocurrency firms. If the proposal is approved, it will be implemented immediately and the firms will be charged by the authority for licensing.
According to the watchdog, there are many expenses and costs that they have to bear when it comes to monitoring such entities. Therefore, charging crypto firms is something that sounds fair and reasonable.
The Person Leading the Proposal
The proposal for the charge is being led by Adrienne Harris, who is the superintendent at the DFS. Harris made the announcement on December 1 that they have submitted their proposal for reviewing purposes.
It was mentioned on the DFS website that the proposal has been made public so people are able to view and understand what it aims to achieve.
The people will also get the chance of sharing their thoughts and feedback on the proposal. The public feedback period will stick around for the next 10 days before the status of the proposal is confirmed.
Purpose of the Proposal
According to Harris, their goal is to ensure that they normalize the cryptocurrency industry as much as possible.
The first step for achieving that is to make sure that the cryptocurrency firms and the entire industry is treated the same way as others.
The proposal will help achieve that goal as it will bring the cryptocurrency businesses into the same room as the non-crypto businesses.
The latest state law for New York was introduced in 2015. At that time, not much was added in favor of the cryptocurrency industry because it had not gained that much success.
Harris also added that the crypto industry is constantly rising in New York. Every day, they are receiving multiple requests for regulatory approval from cryptocurrency firms.
They also have to carry out monitoring of the cryptocurrency industry and the firms from their end. However, they are short on resources who can keep a check on such activities.
With the funds they start generating from the license issuance charge, they will bring in fresh talents for the regulation of cryptocurrencies.
