New York financial regulator NYDFS issues second BitLicense to Ripple

Crazy Commentary : Nine months ago, after the first digital currency license (Bitlicense) was issued to Circle, today the distributed ledger startup Ripple obtained the second BitLicense, which means that both Circle and Ripple can provide digital currency services in New York State with a license. The Bitlicense legalizes digital currency, while also saving costs in cross-border payments and better serving consumers. More certificates may be approved this week, which means that progress has been made in the regulation and promotion of digital currency.

Translation: Nicole

Nine months after the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) issued its first BitLicense, its second digital currency license has been issued to distributed ledger startup Ripple.

The digital certificate, approved today, allows the startup to trade and store XRP, the asset that powers the Ripple Consensus Ledger (RCL). While not technically a blockchain, the tool uses the digital currency to display payment information, much like other token-based blockchain systems like Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Founded in 2012, Ripple has already successfully signed up many corporate partners, thanks to the permissioned access to the network. In the statement, Ripple also stressed that digital certificates can help it better serve consumers, who also want to use the technology to save costs in the cross-border payment field.

Partners now prefer to send traditional payment messages through the company’s technology rather than using XRP. Consumers testify that this allows banks to bring brokers into a distributed ledger environment, creating a more robust network for money transfers.

However, Ripple said today that encouraging consumers to use XRP tokens could further reduce costs, making the positioning more attractive.

Chris Larsen

Ripple CEO Chris Larsen said:

“With the Digital Currency Certificate, we look forward to working with Bank of New York customers to move XRP while saving costs.”

Richard Loconte, NYDFS director of communications and strategy, said in a statement that the approval means NYDFS is still working on the application despite being rebuked earlier this year.

Going further, Loconte predicted that there are more updates to come, telling CoinDesk that other certificates may also be approved and that information could be released this week.