Galaxy secures New York BitLicense to expand institutional crypto services

Galaxy Digital, a crypto-focused financial services company led by Mike Novogratz, has received a BitLicense and Money Transmission License from the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), allowing it to expand regulated digital asset services to institutional clients in the state.

The company said Monday that the approvals were granted to its subsidiary, GalaxyOne Prime NY, which provides trading and financing services to institutional investors.

The licenses extend Galaxy’s regulatory reach into New York, one of the most tightly regulated jurisdictions for cryptocurrency businesses in the United States.

In a statement, Novogratz said New York represents the “deepest pool of institutional capital in the country,” and that the approvals will help broaden institutional access to digital assets.

Introduced in 2015, New York’s BitLicense is widely considered one of the most difficult regulatory approvals for crypto companies to obtain because it requires extensive compliance controls related to anti-money laundering, cybersecurity, capital reserves and consumer protection.

Source: Galaxy

As Cointelegraph recently reported, Jack Mallers’ Strike was among the latest high-profile crypto companies to receive approval from the NYDFS, allowing the firm to offer Bitcoin services to residents and businesses in the state.

Related: Crypto funds see $1B in outflows as Iran tensions revive risk-off sentiment

Galaxy posts Q1 loss as data center business expands

The regulatory milestone comes as Galaxy continues to navigate a volatile digital asset market. The company last month reported a net loss of $216 million in the first quarter ended March 31, driven largely by lower digital asset prices, though the result was better than analyst expectations.

Gross revenue totaled $10.2 billion for the quarter, down from $12.9 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Galaxy’s Q1 2026 financial statement. Source: Galaxy

According to its Q1 earnings report, Galaxy expects growth to accelerate beginning in the current quarter as revenue from its data center business increases.

Like several other companies in the digital asset industry, Galaxy has expanded beyond cryptocurrency trading and investing into data center infrastructure. The company said future growth will be supported by its Helios Data Center campus in Texas and revenue tied to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads.

Related: Galaxy, Sharplink plan $125M institutional DeFi yield fund backed by ETH treasury