TLDR
- Galaxy Digital received a BitLicense and Money Transmission License from New York’s NYDFS
- The approval covers GalaxyOne Prime NY, serving hedge funds, RIAs, and family offices
- Galaxy manages roughly $9 billion in client assets on its platform
- It is only the second company to receive a BitLicense in 2026, after Strike in March
- Galaxy reported a $216 million net loss in Q1 2026 but beat analyst expectations
Galaxy Digital has been approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services to offer institutional crypto trading and custody services in New York. The approval covers its subsidiary GalaxyOne Prime NY and comes as the company works to grow its regulated business.
Galaxy has received a BitLicense and Money Transmitter License from @NYDFS, authorizing us to serve institutional clients across New York State.
The deepest pool of institutional capital in the country now has direct access to our full trading and custody platform.…
— Galaxy (@galaxyhq) May 18, 2026
What the Approval Means
The NYDFS granted Galaxy Digital both a BitLicense and a Money Transmission License. These cover GalaxyOne Prime NY, the company’s New York entity, which provides trading and financing services to institutional clients.
The platform manages around $9 billion in client assets. Clients include hedge funds, registered investment advisers, and family offices based in New York.
Galaxy founder and CEO Mike Novogratz said New York is home to the “deepest pool of institutional capital in the country.” He added that digital assets are no longer on the sidelines of those portfolios.
New York’s BitLicense was introduced in 2015. It is one of the hardest crypto licenses to obtain in the United States. Companies must meet strict rules around anti-money laundering, cybersecurity, capital reserves, and consumer protection.
Galaxy is only the second firm to receive a BitLicense in 2026. Bitcoin payments company Strike, led by Jack Mallers, was the first, receiving its approval in March. Strike used its license to offer bitcoin purchases, salary conversion, and payment services in the state.
Galaxy now holds more than 50 licenses globally.
Galaxy’s Financial Picture
The licensing news comes as Galaxy manages a difficult financial period. The company posted a net loss of $216 million in the first quarter of 2026, ending March 31. Lower digital asset prices were the main driver of the loss, though the result came in better than analyst forecasts.
Gross revenue for Q1 was $10.2 billion, down from $12.9 billion in the same quarter a year earlier.
Galaxy expects its performance to improve in the current quarter. The company is counting on rising revenue from its data center business to support that growth.
Galaxy has been building out infrastructure beyond crypto trading. Its Helios Data Center campus in Texas is a key part of that push. The company is targeting revenue tied to artificial intelligence and high-performance computing workloads.
Several other crypto companies have made similar moves into data center infrastructure as the sector diversifies.
The NYDFS approvals mark a step forward for Galaxy’s regulated operations in one of the country’s most closely watched crypto markets.
