The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has rolled out guidelines describing requirements for companies that want to issue stablecoins.
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Adrienne Harris, superintendent of DFS, said in a press release that stablecoins issuers have to meet "conservative reserve requirements and provide routine attestations to protect consumers and ensure the stability of the coins issued." She added:
"Leveraging our years of expertise in the space, our Regulatory Guidance today creates clear criteria for virtual currency companies looking to issue USD-backed stablecoins in New York."
In general, stablecoin providers have to meet three baseline criteria to offer their services in New York. They are:
- Backing and Redeemability. The stablecoin must be fully backed by a reserve of assets.
- Reserve Requirements. The assets in the reserve must be segregated from the proprietary assets of the issuing entity and must be held in custody with US state.
- Independent Audits. The stablecoin provider has to undergo audits at least once per month by an independent Certified Public Accountant licensed in the US.
Besides the above-mentioned requirements, stablecoin providers also have to comply with Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) rules.
The move comes after Harris previously said that crypto firms should incorporate blockchain analytics tools to set controls and meet AML and sanctions-related compliance requirements. Harris, who was nominated to lead DFS in August 2021, pointed out that blockchain analytics tools provide companies with an "efficient, data-driven way to conduct customer due diligence."
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