The financial industry, the crypto-sphere, and bitcoin watchers everywhere have been buzzing about the latest news about Coinsource, the world’s largest bitcoin ATM operator. According to an interview with Coinsource general counsel, Arnold Spencer, The Block told readers, “Coinsource, the bitcoin ATM operator, made headlines last week for snagging the holy grail of bitcoin licenses, the so-called BitLicense from the New York State Department of Financial Services.”
The application process for this coveted virtual currency license began in the summer of 2015. Coinsource is the only bitcoin ATM operator to be granted the license, and joins an elite group of only 11 other businesses who now hold this license.
“Up until now we didn’t necessarily know if we would receive regulatory approval and we didn’t know under what terms we would have been able to operate,” Spencer told The Block. “Now, we have a clear path forward. When we talk to banks, investors, or our kiosk manufacturers, we have a good sense of where we are going to be 12 months from now.” Coinsource will now be able to enter into new relationships with an added level of credibility.
Coinsource has been intensely focused on compliance, and prides itself on this achievement. “Receiving the Bitlicense means that Coinsource faces much less regulatory risk. We now have a structure under which we know we can operate in New York. During the application process, we faced the possibility that New York would set out certain requirements that we could not meet or that we would have to limit our business model in ways that could cripple our company. Now we have standards for compliance and a constructive and open dialogue with our regulators,” Spencer said.
The next step for Coinsource is expansion
According to Coinsource CEO, Sheffield Clark, “The granting of this license is a huge victory for Coinsource, as well as also a stamp of approval that allows would-be partners and users to confidently engage with our products and services. Over the next 180 days, we plan on tripling our presence in the state of New York.” The primary goal, Clark says, “is ensuring that Americans in all 50 states have easy access to bitcoin.”
Currently operating 200 bitcoin ATMs in the United States, the company is also pursuing approval to operate as a money transmitter in all 50 states, and already have approval in 18. This would greatly increase the types of services they could offer with their kiosks. “With the blessing of regulators, we are interested in getting into remittances,” Spencer said. “An individual could use our BTM machines at a fraction of the fees that they now pay using money transfer services.” In addition, they have begun talking to regulators in South America and Asia.
Within the next 6 to 12 months, Coinsource expects to have approval to operate in three additional countries.. For more on a conversation with Coinsource CEO Sheffield Clark and General Counsel Arnold Spencer, check out Coincentral.com.