MoonPay Receives NYDFS Approval to Operate Across the US
Date: 2025-06-05 Author: Henry Casey Categories: BUSINESS
Cryptocurrency payment company MoonPay has achieved a major milestone: the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has issued it a BitLicense and Money Transmitter license. These permits allow the company to directly serve users across the US, including states that previously had restrictions.
The NYDFS is known as one of the most demanding regulators in the US financial sector. Obtaining a license from this body means meeting the strictest standards in financial reporting, anti-money laundering (AML), and cybersecurity. This is why the BitLicense is considered one of the most difficult licenses to obtain in the cryptocurrency industry.
The BitLicense, introduced in New York in 2015, is designed for cryptocurrency companies wishing to operate in the state. However, due to the complex requirements, only a limited number of companies have managed to pass this process. Some companies have decided to bypass New York altogether, considering licensing to be excessively expensive and limiting innovation. Famous investor Bill Ackman openly criticized the BitLicense in 2022, calling it a barrier to technological progress.
Despite this, MoonPay managed to get into the prestigious list of organizations with a BitLicense. Among them are such giants as PayPal, Coinbase, Ripple, Robinhood, Circle, eToro and Coin Cafe. During 2024, only two new companies were able to obtain this license: Anchorage Digital and Cumberland.
According to Ivan Soto-Wright, co-founder and CEO of MoonPay, the received licenses open up the opportunity to provide services without regional restrictions. He emphasized that the company, headquartered in New York, is proud of the result achieved and intends to continue the dialogue with regulators throughout the United States.
MoonPay previously announced the opening of its new headquarters in New York. The company's management also noted that the past financial year was the most successful in its history.
