Cumberland
DRW,
a
major
digital
asset
trader
and
liquidity
provider,
said
on
Monday
that
the
New
York
State
Department
of
Financial
Services
(NYDFS)
granted
its
New
York-based
entity
a
virtual
currency
license
called
BitLicense.
“We
are
pleased
that
the
New
York
State
Department
of
Financial
Services
has
granted
Cumberland
New
York
a
BitLicense,”
the
company’s
official
X
account
posted.
“As
one
of
the
only
principal
trading
firms
to
hold
a
BitLicense,
we
look
forward
to
strong
trading
relationships
with
institutional
New
York
counterparties,”
the
company
added.
BitLicense
is
New
York’s
landmark
regulation
for
cryptocurrency-focused
businesses
put
in
place
in
2015.
While
the
regime
spearheaded
efforts
to
regulate
the
emerging
crypto
industry
on
a
state
level,
it
has
attracted
criticism
over
the
years
from
market
participants
for
stifling
innovation,
while
the
state’s
comptroller
raised
concerns
earlier
this
year
about
the
agency’s
auditing
process.
Cumberland
is
a
subsidiary
of
Chicago-based
high-frequency
trading
company
DRW.
Earlier
this
year,
Cumberland
was
one
of
the
trading
firms
that
were
chosen
by
Fidelity
Investments
to
buy
and
sell
bitcoin
(BTC)
for
Fidelity’s
spot
bitcoin
exchange-traded
fund
(ETF)
that
started
trading
in
January.