New Jersey Wants Its Own BitLicense Regulation

New Jersey is poised to adopt sweeping cryptocurrency and blockchain regulations with the passage of the Digital Asset and Blockchain Technology Act (the Act). If adopted, the Act would radically change the regulatory landscape for cryptocurrency-focused businesses providing services to New Jersey residents. Despite New Jersey having benefited from the exodus of cryptocurrency companies fleeing New York after the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) implemented the first-of-its-kind BitLicense requirements in 2015, New Jersey appears fated to implement a similarly expansive cryptocurrency regulatory regime.

Overview

While the Act bears resemblance to the New York BitLicense framework, it includes a number of distinctions reflecting the evolution that the cryptocurrency industry has experienced since the latter's introduction nearly eight years ago. In contrast to the BitLicense framework, the Act grants digital asset activity oversight and licensing