Two companies were given the green light to operate on the virtual currency marketplace in New York on Monday, the state Department of Financial Services announced.

Seed Digital Commodities Market LLC, also known as SCXM, and Zero Hash LLC were granted virtual currency licenses by the agency. Zero Hash was also approved for a money transmitter license.

Both companies are subsidiaries of Seed CX Ltd., a larger digital asset exchange company based in Chicago. The two new virtual currency licenses approved Monday mark the third and fourth since DFS Superintendent Linda Lacewell joined the agency in February.

“As virtual currency license holders we will be able to expand trading and settlement services to New York firms through our institutional platform that offers the strong institutional technology, the operational support, and the regulatory compliance that institutions demand,” said Edward Woodford, co-founder and CEO of Seed CX.

DFS has authorized SCXM to serve as a matching engine for buyers and sellers of cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin, and as a platform for cryptocurrency block trades for large financial institutions and trading firms. Zero Hash will act as a money transmitter for the trading activity resulting from its affiliated exchange.

“The department's approval of these new licenses will provide institutional customers with more choice while also protecting consumers and the public through strong anti-money laundering, cybersecurity and other compliance standards in a continuously evolving global financial services marketplace,” Lacewell said.

DFS has approved more than 20 virtual currency businesses since it started licensing those companies in 2015. The agency was the first on the state and federal levels to promulgate regulations overseeing the virtual currency industry.

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