New York Bitcoin License Still Stands, Theocchino's Lawsuit Against NYDFS Dismissed

Golden Finance News - On May 4, the executive director of the Bitcoin Foundation did not want Judge Lucy Billings to dismiss the prosecution case regarding the Bitcoin license and supported the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) between Theo Chino and NYDFS.

(Theo Chino is a lifetime member of the Bitcoin Foundation. Image source: Golden Finance)

“Judge Billings should not have dismissed the NYDFS bitcoin license suit on May 4, 2017,” Llew Claasen said in an email on the issue. In that case, Chino sued NYDFS for overstepping its authority in applying the controversial 2015 “virtual currency” statute — 23 § 1, New York Code, Part 200.

According to the Bitcoin Foundation’s statement, Chino and his attorney, Pierre Ciric, are trying to stop the regulation of the Bitcoin license before the NYDFS sets a global precedent. They are preparing to appeal the challenge all the way to the Supreme Court in New York. This is expected to be a lengthy legal process.

Chino’s argument is that state legislators, not the NYDFS, have the authority to define Bitcoin. He alleges that the NYDFS acted unlawfully and arbitrarily and exceeded its regulatory authority when it enacted the controversial “Virtual Currency” Regulation — New York Code Chapter 23, Section 1, Part 200 — in 2015.

Klassen explained:

“On March 16, 2017, Chino first appeared before Judge Lucy Billings. Rather than dismissing the case as requested by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), the judge wanted to hear all of Chino’s factual and legal issues regarding the Bitcoin license and reschedule oral arguments for May 2017 on all issues. This was not a frivolous presiding judge, he was taking things seriously.”

The Bitcoin Foundation has long maintained that the Bitcoin License regulations are incompletely designed and have undermined Bitcoin innovation in New York since their introduction in June 2015.

The Bitcoin Foundation would like to see regulators in the United States and around the world not start emulating the New York example of “regulation bitcoin,” so it supports Chino’s move.