NEW YORK — The city’s financial regulator had its sights set on becoming a global hub for innovations like bitcoin when it adopted trailblazing virtual currency rules in 2015. But the state lost that momentum when the agency’s chief left, putting a licensing process in limbo and allowing rivals to catch up. Since June 2015, New York has required virtual currency firms doing business there to get a "BitLicense" to hold customer funds and exchange virtual coins for dollars and other regular currencies. Benjamin Lawsky headed the Department of Financial Services (DFS) when it developed those rules, acting as an early advocate of virtual currencies when other regulators were still sceptical. Although it remains unclear whether such currencies will ever gain mainstream acceptance, they are now part of a broader, rapidly growing industry that blends finance and technology, and which leading financial centres are keen to attract. For companies, a stamp of approval from a tough regulator of...
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