Attorney Pierre Ciric, the lawyer representing former Bitcoin entrepreneur Theo Chino, and his company Chino Ltd., has pushed up their lawsuit against the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) to the state’s highest judiciary.
As per a document released last week, the plaintiffs moved up their lawsuit to the New York State Court of Appeals, hoping for a fairer decision in their request to dismiss NYDFS licensing requirement for crypto firms, generally known as “BitLicense.”
The latest filing shows that the matter is now due to move to the New York Court of Appeals on October 14, where a final ruling will be made.
BitLicense Challenged
Precisely in October 2015, Theo Chino initially made a case against NYDFS with the New York Supreme Court over a requirement by the regulatory body that companies and individuals who wish to engage in activities involving cryptocurrencies in New York must operate with a license.
However, the NY Supreme court in its ruling granted a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, adding that the plaintiff has no standing to challenge the BitLicense regulation.
Following that decision, though, Chino’s attorney reportedly said:
“Obviously, our client disagrees with this conclusion, since it would mean that, for all practical purposes, no business located in New York or in another state would have access to the court system to challenge this regulation, and possibly other regulations promulgated by NYDFS.”
While the NYDFS claims that BitLicense provides key consumer protection, anti-money laundering, cybersecurity rules to help safeguard customer funds and root out the illicit activity, their opposition thinks otherwise.
Chino’s party as well as and other individuals operating a crypto-related in NY claimed that the regulation was forcing them out of business since the cost of acquiring the license was too expensive (appr. $50,000 to $100,000), including the regulatory scrutiny now involved.
Also, the plaintiffs were of the view that the regulation came from the NYDFS-own initiative since it was introduced without consulting the New York State Legislature’s mandate or instructions.
Undoubtedly, a final ruling on the matter is set to be heard in the coming months and perhaps might clear the way for more crypto startups to offer their products to New York residents.
Meanwhile, Coinfomania reported in a related development, that leading crypto exchange, Binance acquired approval from the NYDFS to launch its stablecoin (BUSD)
