Mobile payment company Square Inc. said today it has obtained a New York State Bitlicense as part of the company’s expansion into cryptocurrency, just as new details have emerged of the company designing its own point-of-sale devices that could be used to accept bitcoin payments.

The license, which Square applied for in March, allows the company to exchange bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in New York.

Launched in 2015, the Bitlicense has often been controversial in the bitcoin community because of its strict regulations relating to anti-money-laundering, anti-fraud and cybersecurity policies. But after initial pushback, it has slowly been adopted by companies wanting to trade cryptocurrencies in the state. According to Reuters, Square is the ninth firm to have obtained the license from the New York State Department of Financial Services.

Square started testing support for bitcoin in its Cash app in November before announcing expanded support for bitcoin trading within its app to most users in January. Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey is a huge fan of bitcoin, saying in an interview in March that he believed it would become the sole global currency within 10 years.

For now, Square only allows users to buy and sell bitcoin. It does not currently support the cryptocurrency as a payment option. But that may be set to change, with details emerging that the company has been quietly selling its own custom-made tablet, the Square Register, since late last year.

The $999 dual-screen Android-powered device is reported by Wired to have been created by a team of 150 designers and engineers, including a few ex-Apple employees. “Its goal wasn’t just to make custom hardware, but to make the software experience better, too,” the report noted.

Existing Square solutions, such as the Square Cash app and Square Reader, the latter a dongle that allows users to swipe cards at the POS, could, in theory could be adapted to allow cryptocurrency payments. However, the problem arises with compliance and control, such as in the case of Bitlicense compliance.

An exclusive device for which Square controls the hardware and software gives it the ability to assure full legal compliance with cryptocurrency regulations, an extra layer of protection and security that may not necessarily be available via an app downloaded from the Apple Inc. App Store or Google Play.

Image: Square