Galaxy Digital Wins New York BitLicense, Serves Hedge Funds, RIAs

Galaxy Digital received a BitLicense and a money-transmitter license from the New York State Department of Financial Services on May 18, 2026, authorizing its Galaxyone Prime NY unit to offer regulated trading, custody and transmission services to hedge funds, registered investment advisers and family offices in New York State.

The approvals allow Galaxyone Prime NY to provide the firm’s full suite of digital-asset products to institutional clients based in New York. Galaxy’s digital-asset business manages about $9 billion in client assets, and the company said the licenses increase a global regulatory footprint that now exceeds 50 approvals.

Founder and CEO Mike Novogratz noted that New York holds the deepest pool of institutional capital in the country and that institutional allocations to digital assets are expanding. “Digital assets are no longer sitting at the edge of those allocations, and Galaxy was built to meet that demand,” he commented.

The BitLicense, established by NYDFS in 2015, is required for firms engaged in virtual currency business activity involving New York or its residents. Holders must maintain anti-money-laundering programs, customer identification procedures, cybersecurity safeguards, consumer protections and minimum capital, and they are subject to regular NYDFS examinations. Upfront compliance costs often range from hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars, with ongoing reporting and operational obligations.

The license covers transmission, custody, exchange services and issuance or administration of digital assets. Businesses that serve New York residents must hold a BitLicense regardless of where they are headquartered. Certain entities, including merchants that accept crypto payments, some software developers and non-custodial wallet providers where users control their own keys, are generally exempt. Some firms have pursued a New York State banking charter under state banking law instead of a BitLicense; both paths require NYDFS approval and carry similar compliance expectations.

Galaxy Digital is listed on Nasdaq under the ticker GLXY and is headquartered in New York City. The company operates the 1.6-gigawatt Helios data center campus in Texas and maintains offices across North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. NYDFS enforcement activity under the BitLicense framework has continued into 2026; the new approvals let Galaxyone Prime NY work directly with New York-based RIAs, hedge funds and family offices seeking regulated custody, trading and asset-management services for digital assets.