According to a report from Fortune via Yahoo Finance, on Monday, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) shared its revision of its virtual currency oversight authority, as well as new measures for how digital firms licensed by the agency receive permission to list different cryptocurrencies. As part of the update, DFS removed over two dozen cryptos from its "green list" of approved tokens, including XRP, Dogecoin, and Litecoin. Eight tokens remain on the list, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and PayPal's PYUSD stablecoin.
While Congress is slow to thoroughly address crypto regulation, DFS has instituted itself as a nation-leading digital asset supervisor thanks to its BitLicense program and virtual currency unit. While the cryptocurrency industry often criticizes the department for its arduous licensing process, the new guidance exhibits DFS' considerate approach to crypto regulation, as other state and federal
agencies opt for enforcement actions.
DFS developed the token greenlist as part of its more intricate crypto supervision. Under the previous guidance, firms licensed by DFS through its virtual currency program could acquire approval to custody and list tokens by a self-certification system that aided in easing the process but still yielded the department a supervisory role, as the firms still had to report to
DFS.
Upon two firms self-certifying a token for either custody or listing, the cryptocurrency would be added to the DFS greenlist, meaning the token would be approved for custody or listing by any DFS-licensed firm, further speeding up the process and enabling the use of the approved tokens.
According to an August version shared with Fortune, the greenlist previously included 25 tokens approved for custody, listing, or both, with well respected projects such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, XRP, and PYUSD.
As part of its updated guidance, DFS announced it would be revising its greenlist, which now has been reduced to only eight tokens at present. USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market cap issued by the BitLicense grantee Circle, did not appear on either the former or the revised greenlist.
"The list of greenlisted coins has been updated to follow the new general framework for greenlisted coins," a DFS spokesperson said in a statement shared with Fortune.
In a press release on Monday, DFS stated that the guidance revision would "clarify" the department's expectations for coin-listing and delisting policies of DFS-regulated entities. Coupled with revising the green list, DFS stated it would be raising risk assessment standards for coin-listing policies and refining requirements for retail customer-facing businesses, leaving behind the previous self-certification system. Licensees are now required to have a token-delisting policy in place that ensures that firms can cease support for cryptos in a manner that lessens the impact on users.
DFS delivered its first penalties against crypto companies, including a $100 million settlement with Coinbase in January 2023 for failures in its compliance program. In February, DFS ordered the crypto firm Paxos to stop issuing BUSD, a leading stablecoin that it issued in partnership with Binance. These enforcement actions have transpired with Superintendent Adrienne Harris overseeing the DFS. Other regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have been hesitant to confront rule-making for the turbulent sector.
The revised green list points to a continuing problem for crypto firms, and especially exchanges, as they determine which tokens to include in the midst of regulatory skepticism.
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