California-based fiscal firm SoFi has caused a BitLicense from the New York State Section of Financial Services (NYDFS), the regulator said in a statement on Dec. 3.

SoFi is now one of 24 crypto-related firms that have obtained a BitLicense since 2022, Bloomberg Law's crypto reporter Lydia Beyoud tweeted the same day.

Specifically, SoFi has acquired two licenses — a virtual currency license (BitLicense) and a money transmitter license — that will permit SoFi Digital Assets to offer crypto trading services to its New York customers.

According to the announcement, the business firm is authorized to back up a total of six digital avails including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Greenbacks (BCH), Ethereum Classic (ETC), Litecoin (LTC) and Stellar (XLM).

Customer demand for solid regulations

NYDFS Superintendent Linda Lacewell noted the authorization's commitment to fostering innovation in New York's crypto ecosystem, stating, "The Department'southward approval of SoFi's virtual currency and money transmitter licenses provides consumers with more than choices in a continuously evolving global financial services marketplace."

SoFi CEO Anthony Noto said that the decision to pursue a BitLicense was a response to customer need:

"Putting our members' interests offset is our top priority at SoFi [...] That includes both offering individuals the products they want, similar cryptocurrency inside SoFi Invest, as well as protecting them, through a solid regulatory framework like that created past the NYDFS."

The news comes subsequently the visitor launched zero-fee cryptocurrency trading to its platform SoFi Invest in September. SoFi, which has been in partnership with major American crypto exchange and wallet service Coinbase since February 2022, rolled out commission-free trading for BTC, ETH and LTC.

A BitLicense is a major business license for cryptocurrencies with a number of terms and conditions such as rules on operating with digital currencies, its command, administration, maintenance, storing and issuing, amid others. Earlier this twelvemonth, NYDFS granted a BitLicense to two subsidiaries of crypto derivatives house Seed CX — Seed Digital Commodities Market LLC and Cipher Hash LLC.