DFS Virtual Currency Peter Marton testified on April 25 before the New York Senate Banking Committee. Some takeaways from his testimony:
• Virtual currency division has hired 40 new staff since Jan. 2022, with total reports of 57
• The application backlogs remains; DFS has granted four BitLicenses in last 15 months
• The application queue remains high, but that’s because “people want to come to DFS through the front door”
• Numerous other regulators call DFS the “gold standard” for crypto regulation
• DFS is “very hands on” in supervising crypto licensees
• To monitor licensees and markets DFS employs blockchain analytics and risk monitoring tools; it has also worked with 25 external risk monitoring experts
• Because of DFS Bitlicense regime, New Yorkers were much less impacted by the fallout from the FTX downfall
• DFS takes action to protect investors in crypto who are people of color, including consumer protection requirements and fee oversight
Also testifying at the hearing was Chief Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Chris D’Aneglo. Its worth the watch.