Leading digital asset exchange ShapeShift has announced that it will stop its services in the State of Washington due to regulatory policies.
“As a customer-facing service provider operating in hundreds of jurisdictions, ShapeShift AG takes regulatory compliance seriously. As such, we are terminating service to Washington,” ShapeShift said in an online post.
ShapeShift recently acquired Washington-based bitcoin hardware wallet company KeepKey. With its decision to leave the state, ShapeShift said that KeepKey will be moving its headquarters.
The startup said that its decision was driven by “Senate Bill 5031”, which would require a blockchain license for blockchain service providers operating in the state. Besides requiring permission from Washington before it buys and sells its own property for its own account, ShapeShift said that it would be required to end hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain a license.
It added:
“We believe that this position – like the position taken by New York regulators in the BitLicense – endangers customers, stifles growth, and generates unnecessary frictional costs for young innovators. Worse, it does so for little to no gain for the State’s residents. Because ShapeShift is noncustodial, there is no more risk of loss to our customers than to the customers of a snack machine.
“We believe the position that Washington’s regulators have taken is unethical, wasteful, and reckless. We cannot expect the same people, and the same thinking, that designed, built, and promoted the legacy fiat financial system to do what is needed to build a better alternative.”
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