I don't get it.....so they will only operate as a bank in new york ? What about the other states ? For example coinbase has USD wallets only in half of the US states, these guys will only operate for NY residents ? seems odd....
itbit is not becoming a consumer bank (it would be nice). It is acquiring licenses to be on the right side of the law.
According to this "techcrunch" article (
http://techcrunch.com/2015/05/07...), itBit is the "only US-chartered and supervised bitcoin exchange thats compliant with both New York and federal law". If this is true, traders would be more confident trading there.