eToro secures BitLicense and money transfer license in New York, reopens crypto trading to New Yorkers after SEC settlement in 2024, expands US coverage to 48 states.
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eToro has secured both a New York BitLicense and money transfer license, opening its cryptocurrency platform to New York residents. The approval means eToro now offers crypto trading in 48 states in the US, following a $1.5 million settlement with the SEC in 2024. The company calls New York the “center of financial markets” and marks the move as a strategic milestone in its U.S. expansion.
Online securities and social trading platform eToro has been awarded the coveted New York BitLicense and Parallel Transfer License, paving the way for residents of the state to trade cryptocurrencies on its platform for the first time. With two approvals from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), eToro’s cryptocurrency offering now extends to 48 US states, according to a report from Crowdfund Insider cited by ChainCatcher.
Announcing the launch, Andrew McCormick, head of eToro’s U.S. division, said, “New York is the capital of financial markets and a hub of innovation,” and said the expansion is “a strategic milestone and a reflection of our commitment to responsibly driving access to the next generation of financial markets.” The NYDFS BitLicense regime, introduced in 2015, remains one of the most stringent state-level cryptocurrency frameworks in the United States, and as news outlets such as Bloomberg and Financial Times Finance have repeatedly highlighted, only a limited number of exchanges and custodians have been approved over the past decade.
The New York green light comes nearly two years after eToro resolved an enforcement action with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. In 2024, the company agreed to pay a $1.5 million civil penalty to resolve charges that it operated as an unregistered broker and clearinghouse, and has since delisted most of its crypto assets from its U.S. platform while overhauling its compliance controls. This reduction reflects a broader regulatory crackdown on offshore-style token menus, with major token exchanges scaling back listings in response to SEC and CFTC pressure, as detailed in previous reporting by Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal on enforcement trends beyond 2022.
Since then, eToro has adopted a more conservative US stance, focused on a narrower range of assets, and built its compliance and monitoring stack to meet NYDFS standards. Securing the BitLicense allows the company to join a small club of global exchanges that can serve retail customers in New York and maintain a regulatory moat that competitors cannot easily cross without state approval. For U.S. users, the expansion will mean a familiar social trading interface that will put them on par with licensed incumbents in the nation’s most heavily regulated cryptocurrency market, while for the industry, it could provide a template for post-enactment platforms to re-enter New York once they embrace greater oversight and a leaner token set.
