NY Regulator Tells Crypto Firms To Develop Coronavirus Plans

The New York’s Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) is now requiring the state’s sanctioned cryptocurrency firms to provide detailed coronavirus preparedness plans, signalling the seriousness that COVID-19 poses to businesses as well as public health. The NY regulator said that “virtual currency businesses” must produce contingency plans with painstaking and granular detail, according to a letter sent on Tuesday.

The latest cryptocurrencies news also show that preparations must include employee protection strategies, increased cyber-risk procedures to ensured the continued functioning of the critical operations “at a minimum.” They must also lay out their point-by-point plans for the eventuality of a potentially snowballing outbreak.

The regulation crypto news show that the NY regulator also showed major concern over the possibility that hackers might try exploiting the virus outbreak. NYDFS “underscored” the risk of under-the-radar hacks and implored firms to consider implementing more robust security measures that could detect “fraudulent trading or withdrawal behavior.”

Firms are required to submit their plans in the next 30 days, but preferably “as soon as possible” according to the letter. A NYDFS press officer did not immediately respond to the questions over whether the request applies to all BitLicense holders.

This request offers a striking look at New York’s in-the-moment response to a crisis that grows more layered by the hour. When NYDFS issued the memo on Tuesday, the NY regulator said that the emergency is there. However, businesses were still mulling what, if anything, to do in response to the outbreak.

By Thursday, the dynamic changed and the NY regulator was forced to issue new guidelines. The governor Andrew Cuomo even declared a moratorium on mass gatherings and many mayors declared a city-wide state of emergency, warning the public that the coronavirus could “easily be a six-month crisis” in near back-to-back press conferences.

The drastic shift in public opinion, government outlook and business realities across the week made all plans seem preventative. The coronavirus crisis surely affected the Bitcoin price news as well, where we saw major declines and a Bitcoin (BTC) that is struggling to go above $5,500 now. The total cryptocurrency market cap is at $153 billion, around $100 billion less than what we saw a week ago.