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 Monday that it has issued a BitLicense to Square, the online credit card payment processing company. While Square began supporting buying and selling of bitcoin earlier this year, 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. 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” of the internet. The profits Square has made from bitcoin have so far been lackluster, but the company’s stock jumped 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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Source: ETHNews
