NY State Senate Bill 2025-S8901

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Banks Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 14, 2026	referred to banks

2025-S8901 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10246
Current Committee:: Senate Banks
Law Section:: Financial Services Law
Laws Affected:: Add §408-b, Fin Serv L

2025-S8901 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits unlicensed activities of virtual currency businesses and establishes criminal penalties for such actions.

2025-S8901 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S8901

SPONSOR: MYRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the financial services law, in relation to prohibiting
unlicensed activities of virtual currency businesses

 
PURPOSE:

To amend the financial services law to prevent unlicensed virtual
currency businesses.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the financial services law by adding a new section
408-b. Defines prohibited unlicensed virtual currency act and the penal-
ties for violations of such acts.

Section 2 provides for the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:

There are a variety of persons operating in New York State and/or
servicing New York based customers that operate as virtual currency
businesses without any licensure. Criminal actors use these unlicensed
virtual currency businesses to launder stolen funds and other criminal
proceeds and move said criminal proceeds instantaneously and anonymous-
ly. These unlicensed virtual currency businesses don't collect any "KYC"
(know your customer) on their clients, file currency transaction reports
for transactions over $10,000, file suspicious activity reports, or
otherwise comply with the regulatory requirements imposed on traditional
money transmitters. For decades the federal government has required
banks and other financial institutions to collect basic information
about account holders in order to permit law enforcement to investigate
the use of such accounts to commit crimes including larceny, identity
theft, money laundering, and terrorism financing. As the use of crypto-
currency by the general public has grown, so too has its use by illicit
actors.

The key statutes regulating these businesses are New York's Department
of Financial Services ("DFS") regulations governing the issuance of
licenses to conduct virtual currency business activity, or "BitLicenses"
(23 NYCRR 200), and money transmission requirements set forth in the
Banking Law (Article 13-B). In 2025, the New York State legislature
passed and the governor signed a new law to impose civil penalties for
failing to receive the requisite BitLicense in order to operate in New
York State. Currently, however, there is no criminal penalty associated
with an entity which fails to obtain a BitLicense. By adopting this
proposal, New York would join eighteen other states who have adopted
criminal penalties for unlicensed virtual currency transmission, and
would protect consumers and the general public from virtual currency
businesses that allow illicit money transmission.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S8901 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8901
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 14, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Banks
 
 AN ACT to amend the financial services law, in relation  to  prohibiting
   unlicensed activities of virtual currency businesses
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. The financial services law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
 section 408-b to read as follows:
   §  408-B. UNLICENSED VIRTUAL CURRENCY BUSINESSES. (A) FOR THE PURPOSES
 OF THIS SECTION, A "PROHIBITED UNLICENSED VIRTUAL  CURRENCY  ACT"  SHALL
 MEAN  ENGAGING  IN  AN  ACTIVITY  IN  THIS  STATE FOR WHICH A LICENSE IS
 REQUIRED BY THE DEPARTMENT, WITHOUT SUCH LICENSE.
   (B) IN ADDITION TO ANY CIVIL OR CRIMINAL LIABILITY PROVIDED BY LAW:
   (1) ANY PERSON WHO ENGAGES IN A PROHIBITED UNLICENSED VIRTUAL CURRENCY
 ACT SHALL BE GUILTY OF A CLASS A MISDEMEANOR;
   (2) ANY PERSON WHO ENGAGES IN A PROHIBITED UNLICENSED VIRTUAL CURRENCY
 ACT, AND IN THE COURSE OF THAT VIOLATION  ENGAGES  IN  VIRTUAL  CURRENCY
 BUSINESS ACTIVITY, AS DEFINED BY THE DEPARTMENT, THAT RECEIVES FOR TRAN-
 SMISSION,  TRANSMITS, STORES, HOLDS, MAINTAINS CUSTODY OR CONTROL, BUYS,
 SELLS,  PROVIDES  EXCHANGE  SERVICES,  ADMINISTERS,  OR  ISSUES  VIRTUAL
 CURRENCY: (A) WITH A TOTAL VALUE OF TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE
 DURING  A PERIOD OF THIRTY DAYS OR LESS, OR A TOTAL OF TWO HUNDRED FIFTY
 THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE DURING A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR  OR  LESS;  OR  (B)
 KNOWING  SAID  VIRTUAL  CURRENCY  TO  BE  THE  PROCEEDS  OF ANY CRIMINAL
 CONDUCT, SHALL BE GUILTY OF A CLASS E FELONY;
   (3) ANY PERSON WHO ENGAGES IN A PROHIBITED UNLICENSED VIRTUAL CURRENCY
 ACT, AND IN THE COURSE OF THAT VIOLATION  ENGAGES  IN  VIRTUAL  CURRENCY
 BUSINESS ACTIVITY, AS DEFINED BY THE DEPARTMENT, THAT RECEIVES FOR TRAN-
 SMISSION,  TRANSMITS, STORES, HOLDS, MAINTAINS CUSTODY OR CONTROL, BUYS,
 SELLS,  PROVIDES  EXCHANGE  SERVICES,  ADMINISTERS,  OR  ISSUES  VIRTUAL
 CURRENCY  WITH  A TOTAL VALUE OF FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS OR MORE DURING A
 PERIOD OF THIRTY DAYS OR LESS, OR  A  TOTAL  OF  FIVE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND
 DOLLARS  OR MORE DURING A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR OR LESS, SHALL BE GUILTY OF
 A CLASS D FELONY; AND
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD14435-01-6
 S. 8901                             2

   (4) ANY PERSON WHO ENGAGES IN A PROHIBITED UNLICENSED VIRTUAL CURRENCY
 ACT, AND IN THE COURSE OF THAT VIOLATION  ENGAGES  IN  VIRTUAL  CURRENCY
 BUSINESS ACTIVITY, AS DEFINED BY THE DEPARTMENT, THAT RECEIVES FOR TRAN-
 SMISSION,  TRANSMITS, STORES, HOLDS, MAINTAINS CUSTODY OR CONTROL, BUYS,
 SELLS,  PROVIDES  EXCHANGE  SERVICES,  ADMINISTERS,  OR  ISSUES  VIRTUAL
 CURRENCY WITH A TOTAL VALUE OF ONE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  DOLLARS  OR  MORE
 DURING  A  PERIOD  OF  THIRTY  DAYS  OR  LESS, OR A TOTAL OF ONE MILLION
 DOLLARS OR MORE DURING A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR OR LESS, SHALL BE GUILTY  OF
 A CLASS C FELONY.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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Senate Bill S8901

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Banks Committee

Actions

2025-S8901 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S8901 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S8901 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8901 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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Sponsored By

Zellnor Myrie

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Banks Committee

Actions

2025-S8901 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S8901 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S8901 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S8901 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments