The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) has authorized New York-based virtual currency exchange Gemini Trust Company, LLC to offer the trading of Ether, an emerging cryptocurrency, on its platform.

Starting today at 9:30 AM EDT, Gemini will be offering ETH/BTC and ETH/USD trading pairs on two new order books.

In a blog post, Cameron Winklevoss, Co-Founder and President at Gemini, said that the Ethereum protocol’s unique features and the wide range of applications being developed by the Ethereum community, along with increased liquidity and market cap, made ether an “obvious addition” to the Gemini trading platform.

He further said that they have been working closely with the NYSDFS to obtain approval to offer ether storage and trading to the customers as a fully-licensed New York State-chartered limited liability trust company.

“Our approval makes Gemini the first licensed ether exchange in the world. It also makes the NYSDFS the first regulatory agency in the world to supervise ether, reaffirming their position as the leading financial regulator in the area of digital assets”, he added.

The Department of Financial Services issued a charter to Gemini in October 2015 to operate a virtual currency exchange through which Gemini customers may purchase and sell virtual currency for U.S. Dollars and U.S. Dollars for virtual currency. The DFS said that Gemini can launch Ether trading immediately, subject to ongoing supervision by the state.

“This action continues New York’s long tradition of pioneering new innovations and emerging industries,” said Governor Cuomo. “With robust regulatory oversight, we are maintaining our status at the forefront of this technological revolution and ensuring that users have a safe and secure experience.”

Speaking with CoinDesk, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss have revealed that they have personally invested in ether. Tyler said that they started acquiring ether earlier this year. Although the exact number has not been disclosed, he said that it was a substantial amount.

According to latest statistics from Coinmarketcap.com, Ethereum remains strongly seated in the second position, with its market cap around $765 million (at the time of writing). It broke above the $1 billion mark in March, causing several cryptocurrency exchanges (Coincheck, Bitfinex, Bitso, BitBay, CHBTC, and others) to add the support for ether trading to their platforms.