The regulatory approval is the first for a New York-based trading firm. The BitLicense will allow Genesis to facilitate the trading of Bitcoin, Ether, Ethereum Classic, Bitcoin Cash, XRP, Litecoin and Zcash. Genesis offers private over-the-counter trading to its customers.
“Although we have operated under a safe harbor provision in recent years, today’s decision is an important step forward and reaffirms the robust compliance measures we have enacted as an established trading partner," Michael Moro, chief executive officer of Genesis, said in the statement. Genesis is also a broker-dealer registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Finra.