According to a report, the New York State Department of Financial Services has approved the Gemini Trust Company, LLC to allow trading of the emerging cryptocurrency ether on its bitcoin exchange.
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo said,
“This action continues New York’s long tradition of pioneering new innovations and emerging industries. With robust regulatory oversight, we are maintaining our status at the forefront of this technological revolution and ensuring that users have a safe and secure experience.”
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, Founders of Gemini Trust Company, LLC were quoted as saying,
“We thank Governor Cuomo for his leadership and DFS for being the first regulator in the world to build a licensing framework for virtual currency businesses. Their approval of Gemini as the first-ever licensed platform to support Ether trading demonstrates their commitment to being global thought leaders in financial regulation that both protects consumers and fosters innovation.”
Reuters reports that trading on ether will commence from Monday, May 9. Customers now have the ability to store their ether on the platform until trading begins. Ethereum was last trading at $9.98, with a market cap of $795.42 million, according to coinmarketcap.com.
Ether is a cryptocurrency, similar to bitcoin, and operates on a distributed ledger called blockchain. The underlying platform i.e. the ethereum network is a cryptocurrency and blockchain platform.
Gemini was earlier issued a charter by NY Department of Financial Services in October 2015 to operate a digital currency exchange which would facilitate buying and selling of digital currency for US dollars and vice-versa. The approval was one of the first big moves from the department after bitcoin regulations called Bitlicense were rolled out in June 2015.
Since bitcoin has been tarnished with alleged links to money laundering, cybercrime, child pornography and others, ether trading will also be subject to supervision by the state.
Image: Deepdotweb.com
