WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Chamber of Digital Commerce (http://www.digitalchamber.org/) is seeking supporters to sign its petition to Benjamin Lawsky, the State of New York’s superintendent of financial services, asking him to extend the comment period of the proposed BitLicense Rules and Regulations through the end of 2014. An extension is necessary to allow the digital commerce industry time to formulate proposals that address the state’s Department of Financial Services’ (NYDFS) goals of providing guardrails which do not threaten technological innovation.

On Nov. 14, 2013, Lawsky issued a Notice of Intent to hold a hearing on virtual currencies in which he said that the NYDFS seeks to set, “guidelines for virtual currencies” and that, “it is important for regulators to balance both allowing new technologies and industries to flourish, while also working to ensure that consumers and our country’s national security remain protected.” Despite Lawsky’s public declaration, the proposed regulations are broad based and the licensing requirements are so onerous that they have the potential to seriously injure this valuable nascent technology.

According to Perianne Boring, president and founder of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, “These regulations do not even highlight the distinction between digital assets and digital currencies. Without representing the difference between the two, the NYDFS is issuing indiscriminate guidelines that threaten to destroy Bitcoin. Numerous businesses have told me they are ready to block out all New York IPs from their servers, and will not do business in this jurisdiction if these proposed regulations are enacted.”

The Digital Chamber previously issued a call to action urging the industry to submit comments to the NYDFS. This user-friendly petition provides an easy way for people to lend their voice in shaping digital currency policy: .

The Digital Chamber also encourages submitting personalized comments directly to the department’s general counsel, Dana V. Syracuse, New York State Department of Financial Services, via email: [email protected].

 

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About the Chamber of Digital Commerce:

The “Digital Chamber” is the first DC-based, non-profit, trade association dedicated to promoting the acceptance and use of digital currencies. Over the next several months, the Digital Chamber is building a full suite of government affairs services for the digital asset industry in Washington, D.C. The Digital Chamber also will offer a strong public affairs office, dedicated to creating a mainstream profile for digital currencies. For more information, please visit www.digitalchamber.org.