eToro has opened crypto trading for clients in New York more than three years after securing a Virtual Currency Business Activity License, or BitLicense. The company received approval in February 2023, but only started operating in the state now, showing how long the path from licensing to launch can be under New York’s crypto rules.
The BitLicense regime, introduced by the New York State Department of Financial Services in 2015, remains one of the toughest crypto regulatory systems in the United States. Fewer than 40 firms have been approved, and some licensed firms never go live. The report notes that companies including eToro often create separate legal entities for New York, while others stay out of the state altogether.
Andrew McCormick, head of eToro U.S., said the firm did not expect the process to run this long, though it never assumed launch would happen immediately after approval. He said the company had originally thought it might be able to go live within that year. Instead, added compliance work, operational buildout, and extra regulatory sign-offs stretched the timeline.
About 20 tokens at launch, far below eToro’s wider lineup
eToro is entering New York with a narrow product set. The initial rollout includes about 20 crypto tokens, well below the roughly 115 tokens it offers in most of its other markets. Across its crypto business, eToro operates in 74 countries and 47 U.S. states, but New York users are limited to assets that fit inside the state’s regulatory perimeter.
The company said it plans to widen the offering over time. McCormick said eToro has already discussed a broader product suite with regulators, including staking. He added that any new business plan requires product updates to the existing agreement, meaning expansion still depends on additional approvals even after the license is in place.
Outside New York, eToro runs a multi-asset platform covering stocks, ETFs, indices, currencies, commodities, and crypto. The contrast is sharp. In New York, regulation is not just shaping how quickly the company can enter the market, but also what it can actually sell once it gets there.
FTX collapse raised the scrutiny level
McCormick said eToro was the first company to receive a BitLicense after the collapse of FTX. According to him, the firm was already close to the finish line when FTX failed, and the event led to heavier scrutiny and diligence in the final stretch. He said eToro was able to clear that process because of its operating history, compliance focus, anti-money laundering controls, and customer protection measures.
The report says the post-FTX environment has pushed licensing and supervision standards higher. In strict jurisdictions such as New York, that has translated into longer approval timelines and higher compliance costs. Firms may need to commit more capital and build more infrastructure before they can begin generating revenue.
State-by-state rules still shape U.S. crypto expansion
The delayed New York launch also points to a broader issue in the U.S. market: fragmented regulation. McCormick said eToro does not currently offer crypto services in states including Hawaii and Nevada because requirements vary across jurisdictions. He said he would rather have “B-plus legislation” than none at all, describing the current setup as 50 different states with different standards, layered on top of securities laws from 1933 and 1934, shifting guidance, and a Supreme Court case from 1946.
The article also notes that federal market structure legislation remains stuck, including proposals such as the Clarity Act, as lawmakers continue debating how authority should be divided between regulators like the SEC and the CFTC. Until a unified framework appears, crypto firms operating in the U.S. are likely to keep dealing with a patchwork of state rules that affects launch timing, compliance plans, and expansion decisions.