The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) recently issued its final BitLicense regulations with respect to Bitcoin and other virtual currencies. The new regulations require the licensing of, and establish minimum standards of conduct for, any person who engages in a virtual currency business activity involving New York or a New York resident.

The regulations impact a wide spectrum of potential businesses, although they exclude merchants and consumers who use virtual currencies in connection with transactions for goods or services, persons chartered under the New York Banking Law and approved to engage in a virtual currency business activity, and persons who engage in the mere "development and dissemination of software in and of itself." Although not specified in the regulations, public statements by NYDFS officials have indicated that operators of hardware relating to network infrastructure (e.g., miners or node operators) are not required to register based on such activities alone.