The Winklevoss twins have launched their Gemini bitcoin exchange after receiving a charter from the New York Department of Financial services (NYDFS).
The charter, granted under the New York Banking Law, enables Gemini to operate as a fully regulated financial services firm, and was granted after a "rigorous review," which looked into anti-money laundering, capitalisation, consumer protection, and cyber security standards.
The Winklevoss brothers, most famous for their legal tangles with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, say that Gemini will open for trading on 8 October, enabling individual and institutional customers to buy and sell bitcoin for fiat currency.
Gemini becomes the second bitcoin firm, after itBit, to get a charter and eschews the NYDFS's BitLicense system. So far, only one firm, Circle has received a BitLicense.
Tyler Winklevoss, CEO, Gemini, says: "We didn't apply for a BitLicense because we wanted to build an exchange that both Main Street and Wall Street could use and trust, so we decided to obtain a limited liability trust company charter in order to do so."