Kraken Gains Licenses in Ireland and Spain; Faces Legal Hurdle in Australia
Summary:
The Central Bank of Ireland granted Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange, an Electronic Money Institution license while the Bank of Spain registered it as a Virtual Asset Service Provider. This will allow the company to facilitate euro-to-crypto trading in EU and EEA countries, and conduct exchange and wallet custodial services in Spain. Kraken was recently sued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission for allegedly offering margin trading services without necessary market determinations. The exchange also sought a restricted dealer registration in Canada to comply with new national regulations.
The Central Bank of Ireland has granted an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license to cryptocurrency exchange, Kraken, while the Bank of Spain has registered it as a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP). As per the announcement made on September 26, this EMI license allows Kraken to broaden its euro-to-crypto trading services to 27 member states of the European Union (EU) and countries in the European Economic Area (EEA). In relation, the VASP registration in Spain permits Kraken to provide exchange transactions and wallet custodial solutions to the residents of Spain. The company is similarly registered in Italy and Ireland as a VASP. Curtis Ting, Kraken's Vice President of global operations shares a positive outlook towards Europe's supportive regulations for crypto, saying it allows the company to grow confidently. Currently, Kraken offers support to over 200 trading pairs for six fiat currencies, namely, British pound, euro, U.S. dollar, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, and Australian dollar. Recently on September 21, it has been reported by Cointelegraph that Kraken was sued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), claiming Kraken's Australian subsidiary, Bit Trade, didn't make appropriate market determinations before offering margin trading services. Jonathon Miller, the Managing Director of Kraken's operations in Australia, found ASIC's move surprising as he was under the impression that Bit Trade was following local regulations correctly. Early this year, Kraken sought a restricted dealer registration in Canada to adhere to the new rules that mandate all VASPs to register with securities administrators or face removal. Following this new regulation, exchanges like Binance and OKX exited Canada. A topic of debate in recent times has been whether ransomware payments should be banned, a suggestion appealing yet hazardous.
Published At
9/26/2023 3:17:44 PM
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