The first New York-based cryptocurrency exchange to be granted the BitLicense, itBit has been approved by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to start trading Stellar Lumens (XLM), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
Expanding the Cryptochain
On June 14, 2018, the itBit team has announced that the NYDFS has given it the go-ahead to add four more cryptocurrencies to its listing.
Since 2015, when the exchange was approved to operate in New York under the BitLicense law, bitcoin has been the only digital currency traded on the platform.
With this groundbreaking development, itBit will now start offering custody, escrow and over-the-counter (OTC) trading services for the newly listed altcoins. The exchange has hinted it’s also making plans to launch exchange trading shortly.
“By gaining this regulatory approval, we are now able to open the doors for individuals and institutions to access crypto assets beyond just Bitcoin,” said COO of itBit, Andrew Chang.
A Global Player
With a 24-hour trading volume of a little above 41 million, the itBit exchange is ranked 37th in the world, which is a decent position considering the fact that the firm used to be a bitcoin-only exchange.
The second largest exchange based in the U.S., itBit was established in 2012, and it focuses on institutional investors and active crypto traders. The firm claims to be the preferred choice for financial institutions and whales in the digital currency space.
“This is an important milestone for itBit as we create a broader platform for crypto asset investors. We are committed to the growth and evolution of this ecosystem, and DFS approval allows us to offer more trading and custody services across a wider range of crypto assets,” said CEO of itBit, Chad Cascarilla.
A Remarkable Achievement for the Cryptospace
On June 11, 2018, BTCManager reported that the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair, Jay Clayton had declared that out of the over 1,500 cryptocurrencies available on the market, bitcoin is the only coin that’s not a security.
“When I give you my money, and you go off and make a venture [and] in return for me giving you my money, you say, ‘You know what, I’m going to give you a return.’ That is a security, and we regulate that. We monitor the offering of that security, and we regulate the trading of that security, Clayton said.
Notably, on June 15, 2018, reports emerged that SEC Director of Corporate Finance, William Hinman had clarified that the world’s second most popular cryptocurrency, ether, is not a security.
Similarly, the approval given to ItBit exchange by the NYDFS to list stellar, ether, litecoin and bitcoin cash may be an indication that the regulator does not see those four altcoins as securities.
While there is still a huge possibility that the US regulators may officially add more altcoins to the ‘“VIP category” where bitcoin belongs, it’s however not clear at the moment when that would happen.
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Source: BTCManager.com
Original Post: Cryptocurrency Exchange itBit Gets NYDFS Approval to List Ethereum and Three other Altcoins
