January 25, 2019

New Yorkers Can Now Use The Robinhood App; Buy BTC With a Debit Card

The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has granted the BitLicense to cryptocurrency trading app Robinhood as well as LibertyX, which allows users to buy BTC with debit cards at regular ATMs.

Robinhood Comes to New York

The New York’s DFS has officially approved a virtual currency license (BitLicense) and a money transmitter license to popular stock and cryptocurrency trading app Robinhood.

Per the license, Robinhood is now permitted to provide services involving seven different cryptocurrencies in the state of New York, which include BTC (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and BTC Cash (BCH).

“We’re delighted that Robinhood Crypto has been granted a virtual currency license and a money transmitter license in New York. This will complement the larger suite of investment services that New Yorkers already have access to on the Robinhood platform…”said Vlad Tenev, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Robinhood Markets, Inc.

Robinhood is a popular stock market trading app, which introduced cryptocurrency trading in February 2018. The company is currently worth $5.6 billion with over 6 million users.

In September 2018, Bitcoinist reported that Robinhood has marketed itself as a low-cost alternative to similar apps while making millions selling users’ data to financial companies on the side.

‘First Debit Card BTC Purchasing Options’

The other BitLicense was approved for LibertyX, which becomes the very first regulated company to let New Yorkers buy BTC from traditional ATMs.

Last year, the company announced a partnership with Genmega. There are over 100,00 Genmega ATMs throughout the US, where users can buy BTC with their debit cards.

Speaking on the matter, Chris Yim, co-founder & CEO at LibertyX said:

After an extensive review process, we are delighted to receive the blessing of the NYDFS (BitLicense) and offer the first debit card BTC purchasing options to New York State residents.

The DFS has so far approved sixteen BitLicense applications, including Robinhood and LibertyX.

What do you think of the DFS granting BitLicense to both Robinhood and LibertyX? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of Shutterstock

Published at Fri, 25 Jan 2019 17:00:00 +0000

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Bitcoin on the Agenda for Iranian Lawmakers

bitcoin is about to be put under scrutiny by legislators in Iran. Majlis Economic Commission are set to discuss the planet’s most popular cryptocurrency and how they will treat it moving forward. The meeting will comprise of representatives from different sectors of government and banking. The Financial Tribune, a domestic newspaper, reported earlier that the head of the commission told ICANA, the Iranian news portal for parliament:

It has been decided to hold a meeting with the officials of the Central Bank of Iran, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance and the Securities and Exchange Organization on bitcoin next week.

According to the Financial Tribune, Mohammad Reza Pour-Ebrahimi sounded pessimistic about cryptocurrency. He reportedly said that bitcoin and other digital currencies were not in line with the nation’s religious beliefs and therefore caution must be exercised:

“Deals and transactions made through bitcoin are in no way in accordance with Islamic and economic fundamentals, therefore related entities, especially the central bank, must exert the necessary supervision over these deals.”

Previously, the Central Bank of Iran’s deputy for innovative tech had urged those involved with the space to operate using extreme vigilance. Last month, Nasser Hakimi outlined the CBI’s goal of having a legislative framework for cryptocurrencies drawn up by March of 2019 and proceeded to warn those involved with any other medium of exchange other than the countries own currency:

“Because bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have not been introduced by the CBI as official currencies and in light of the high risk and speculative activities associated with purchasing them, we ask investors and the public to enter this field with increased caution because they could lose their money.”

The latest development from the Middle-Eastern state may come as a surprise to regular readers of NewsBTC. We reported earlier this year that Iran seemed to be preparing a suitable infrastructure which would allow for greater adoption of cryptocurrency. This was presumed to be an effort to dodge financial sanctions that the likes of the US have placed on the nation. Being as Iran largely exists outside of global banking networks, it seemed that digital currency could provide a useful avenue for trade that doesn’t require the permission of other State-level and supranational actors. However, judging by the statement today, the mood in Tehran has since soured towards bitcoin and the rest of the crypto space.

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