eToro Finally Activates Crypto Trading in New York After 3-Year BitLicense Delay

eToro has launched cryptocurrency trading for New York residents after a more than three-year operational delay, positioning itself among the elite group of fewer than 40 firms ever to fully activate a BitLicense in the nation's largest financial market. The platform, which received its Virtual Currency Business Activity License from the New York State Department of Financial Services in February 2023, only began offering crypto services this week, highlighting the significant operational hurdles that follow regulatory approval in one of the world's most stringent jurisdictions.

What the BitLicense Actually Covers – and Why eToro’s Three-Year Gap Changes the Narrative

The New York State Department of Financial Services introduced the BitLicense framework in June 2015 under 23 NYCRR Part 200, creating the most demanding state-level crypto licensing regime in the U.S.

The license authorizes firms to custody, transmit, and trade virtual currencies for New York residents – but it requires a separate legal entity, continuous capital adequacy demonstrations, robust AML programs, and ongoing NYDFS supervisory access. In practice, the application process alone has taken multiple years for most firms.

eToro cleared that bar in February 2023, making it, according to Head of eToro U.S. Andrew McCormick, the first firm to receive a BitLicense following the FTX collapse, a period when NYDFS scrutiny intensified sharply.

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McCormick said: “We were in the process, near the finish line, when that happened, and as it should, it certainly increased the scrutiny and diligence.” That framing matters because it positions eToro’s license not just as a checkbox but as a post-crisis stress test of its compliance infrastructure.

Still, receiving a license and deploying a product are different milestones. eToro also holds a Money Transmitter License in New York, enabling fiat transmission alongside virtual currency activities – a dual-license structure that adds operational complexity.

McCormick acknowledged the timeline overran internal expectations: “We were looking at maybe that year to launch.” The broader U.S. picture underlines the same pattern: eToro launched nationwide securities trading in November 2024, but New York crypto remained gated until now.

As federal stablecoin oversight frameworks continue to evolve under the GENIUS Act, New York’s state-level rigor remains the most demanding compliance layer any crypto firm faces in the U.S.