Kraken BTC Exchange: Farewell New York

[OBAViJEST]

Why only new York? And how long until the other 49 states implement this?

[gentlemand]

Why only new York? And how long until the other 49 states implement this?

It's state level and every state decides its own laws. NY is the US capital of finance so it's unsurprising that they'd introduce something first. Others might well be watching to see what happens but they're under no obligation to introduce anything similar.

[Robin,Hood]

New York's BitLicense to Bitcoin is what England's red flag act was to automobiles.
What NY is doing is self harming behaviour. But when they finally realize it it will be too late.

Good old days 

In the United States, the state of Vermont passed a similar flurry of Red Flag Laws in 1894. The most infamous of the Red Flag Laws was enacted in Pennsylvania circa 1896, when legislators unanimously passed a bill through both houses of the state legislature, which would require all motorists piloting their "horseless carriages", upon chance encounters with cattle or livestock to (1) immediately stop the vehicle, (2) "immediately and as rapidly as possible... disassemble the automobile," and (3) "conceal the various components out of sight, behind nearby bushes" until equestrian or livestock is sufficiently pacified.[1] The bill did not become law, as Pennsylvania's governor used an executive veto.

[countryfree]

Isn't that good news? NY is associated with Wall Street, that's the old world. Let BTC thrive everywhere else. This will push the idea that BTC is in a different league than all the big corporations and stock brokers which do business in NY. Besides, everybody I know thinks of NY as a great place to visit but an awful place to live. So long, NY.

[bryant.coleman]

The exchanges can move to a new country but how long until those countries start making their own bit licenses? Japan is considering regulating Bitcoin exchanges after the Mt Gox fiasco. If there's money in it for them other countries will follow New York's lead. Any new York based exchange now has to give the government a piece of the pie. Japan would no doubt like a piece of the pie from its own exchanges.

There are a lot of countries out there, which are not very hostile to Bitcoins. A few examples are Switzerland, Singapore, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark.etc. There are at least 50 or so nations, where Bitcoin users face no harassment from the government. Even in the United States, there are places where Bitcoin usage is not discouraged.

[ashour]

http://blog.kraken.com/post/126244351097/farewell-new-york

Today Kraken discontinues service to New York residents.

Regrettably, the abominable BitLicense has awakened.  It is a creature so foul, so cruel that not even Kraken possesses the courage or strength to face its nasty, big, pointy teeth.  It’s at least a 40-man, bro.

So after Bitfinex, Kraken is the next exchange saying good bye to NY customers due to NEw York states BitLicense.

for me thats a good decision, and im pretty sure that others will follow them, well done Kraken.

I don't think so, the main goal of these companies are to generate profit so if they actually made an profits from the NY user base they would have stayed there and requested a bitlicense. But they probably show that NY is time/money wasting and decided to move out.

[eternalgloom]

I for one am glad they didn't apply for a license. It would be a very bad thing if regulations like BitLicense became the standard.

Obtaining the BitLicense means paying a $5,000 non-refundable application fee, with the possibility of additional application costs as determined by the NYDFS, and submitting details about those running the company, their financial and legal histories and their plans for running a digital currency business.

Source: http://www.coindesk.com/ny-bitcoin-business-45-days-bitlicense/

[leopard2]

High Finance is centered in NY and naturally they are more aggressive about defending fiat money.

After all, the entire planet is at risk. US$ centric fiat money is the perfect vehicle to enslave the planet. Bitcoin to them is just as much of a threat as Adolf Hitler.   

[harrymmmm]

The New York Department of Financial Services and Benjamin Lawsky will be extremely happy after reading this news. But the most happy bunch will be the bankers. They have banished Bitcoin from one of their strongholds. 

I was told that the just the non-refundable application fee alone amounts to $5,000 per year. In addition to this, there are various other charges. Not a great deal for the exchanges, which don't see that sort of revenue in a whole year.

Not the least of which is the team of lawyers for one month just for the application according to bitfinex.
no doubt at least one lawyer on staff together with compliance  people thereafter.

[First.Bitcoins]

It is not just exchanges that are leaving NY. ArtByte (formerly AppleByte) the digital currency supporting artists around the world has left NY because of the cost and complexity of the BitLicense.


Here is a clip from the announcement:

Due to the requirements of the NY BitLicense, ArtByte has decided to withdraw from the New York market.

So the following services are no longer available to New York residents:


Social media tipping apps
Official pool server
The Orchard (faucet server)
Grants and awards

The ArtByte Foundation is a non-profit corporation dedicated to supporting artists around the world, through the technology of digital currencies. Although we believe regulation is good for the digital currency industry, the complexities and costs of complying with New York's far-reaching regulations far exceed those of any other jurisdiction.

We prefer to allocate our funds to supporting artists around the world. It is a shame that the artists of New York will be unable to participate.

[OBAViJEST]

Can't a new coin be created, with completely new protocols, to circumvent this?

[Denker]

Can't a new coin be created, with completely new protocols, to circumvent this?

They can not regulate any coin. So this is not needed. What they are doing is regulating companies dealing with crypto currencies. And that implies all of them and not only Bitcoin. So it is right of those services to leave NY state if they can not handle the fees or don't agree with that stupid exaggerated KYC/AML. What NY is doing right now is pushing the innovation out of their area and it's citizens have to swallow that bitter pill to just be allowed to use companies like coinbase who will fully comply.

[Carlton Banks]

High Finance is centered in NY and naturally they are more aggressive about defending fiat money.

After all, the entire planet is at risk. US$ centric fiat money is the perfect vehicle to enslave the planet. Bitcoin to them is just as much of a threat as Adolf Hitler.   

Bad example, various Wall Street companies provided Hitler with money and war materials. And they did the same for the Allied powers too. Hitler wasn't much of a threat to Wall Street when you look at it that way.