Kraken in discussions with three regulators to secure European license

abdelaziz Fathi

San Francisco-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is seeking approval to operate in Europe by the end of 2021, founder and CEO Jesse Powell said in an interview with the German business news agency The Handelsblatt.

The second-largest crypto exchange in the U.S. has targeted three potential European jurisdictions. Powell pointed out that Kraken has been already engaged in discussions with regulators in Malta, Luxembourg and Ireland.

Kraken’s UK subsidiary, Crypto Facilities, already holds authorisation from the UK Financial Conduct Authority to operate a multilateral trading facility (MTF).

Obtaining an MTF license allowed the Kraken-owned firm to expand in ways that more closely resemble a traditional exchange, integrating multiple third-party buyers and sellers. Specifically, the FCA’s coveted approval enables Crypto Facilities to expand its product range and serve institutional clients who are mandated to trade on licensed platforms.

Thanks to its London business, Kraken CEO said his company already complies with the EU’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) requirements. However, Kraken is seeking a new European base after Britain’s exit from the European Union.

The move is aimed at ensuring Kraken can continue to serve its non-UK customers and hedge against a no trade-deal Brexit. The process should be completed before the end of the Brexit transition period, after which British-based firms will lose passporting rights that allow them to sell financial services in the bloc.

The Fifth Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) provides a broad definition of crypto assets and qualifying it as “financial instruments.” Such a broad definition of financial instruments goes beyond cryptocurrencies to cover many related-assets, including security tokens.

Powell told Handelsblatt that Kraken had talks with German financial services regulator BaFin. However, he played down any possibility to obtain a regulatory license there, citing too difficult, restrictive local regulations that make it too expensive for the company to operate in Germany.

Kraken has recently expanded its operations in Asia. In 2020, it re-launched its trading services for Japanese residents, nearly two years after it exited the lucrative market.

Kraken was among the few platforms permitted to offer crypto services without a license in Japan while it sought to meet the rules that established bitcoin as a legitimate payment method. However, the exchange withdrew its services in 2018 due to rising costs of maintaining its business there, but indicated at the time it could return in the future.

 

How to introduce Crypto to retail investors: Devexperts announces free webinar for Brokers

Read this next

Digital Assets

Sam Bankman-Fried might see his 25-year sentence halved

Sam Bankman-Fried, the founder of the failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison by a Manhattan court on Thursday. This comes after he was convicted of defrauding customers and investors, with Judge Lewis Kaplan highlighting the potential future risks posed by Bankman-Fried.

Technical Analysis

EURJPY Technical Analysis Report 28 March, 2024

EURJPY currency pair under the bearish pressure after the pair reversed down from the major resistance level 164.25, which also stopped the sharp weekly uptrend at the end of last year,

Digital Assets

BlockDAG’s Presale Hits $9.9M, MultiversX & MINA Price Predictions Show Green

Read about BlockDAG’s promising $10 prediction and insights on MultiversX Price Prediction as MINA’s potential unfolds.

Digital Assets

Rockstar Co-Founder and All-star Line Up Join Advisory Board to Take Metacade into Post Beta Orbit

Metacade, the revolutionary Web3 gaming platform, prepares to streak out of beta with a slew of ground-breaking initiatives that will redefine the way blockchain games are developed.

Retail FX

Prop firm The Funded Trader shuts down, claims relaunch in April

Prop trading firm The Funded Trader has ceased all operations, with claims for a relaunch in the near future.

Digital Assets

Ethereum-Based Tokenized Real Estate Platform USP Launches On Republic

How This Californian Startup Is Revolutionizing Real Estate Investment through Ethereum-Based Tokenization.

Digital Assets

Sui Spikes in Weekly DEX Volume, Joins Top 10 of All Blockchains

March DEX volume on Sui stands at over $2.88B – up more than 49% from February – with decentralized exchange Cetus and wholesale liquidity layer DeepBook leading.

Digital Assets

Prisma Finance suffers $10 million crypto exploit, attack ongoing

Liquid staking protocol Prisma Finance fell victim to a security exploit on March 28, resulting in nearly $10 million in Prisma mkUSD and wrapped stETH being stolen by hackers.

Digital Assets

Masa and LayerZero: Bridging Blockchains for Data Sovereignty

Masa Network is poised to revolutionize the personal data landscape with its upcoming launch as a cross-chain platform, making it accessible on a variety of blockchains right from the start.

<