Bitstamp,
a Luxembourg-based cryptocurrency exchange, has gained a virtual asset service
provider registration in Spain almost four months after it received a similar
approval in Italy.
Hola Spain! 🇪🇸
We’re thrilled to provide all Spanish customers with a safe, secure, and regulated exchange to trade #crypto.#Bitstamp #cryptotrading #regulation pic.twitter.com/e81Pt8N4Xa
— Bitstamp (@Bitstamp) November 17, 2022
With
the Spanish approval, the exchange can now offer crypto-to-fiat and electronic
wallet custody services to its users in Spain, CoinDesk reports on Thursday.
Bitsamp already operates in Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
The
new development at Bitstamp comes six months after the European crypto exchange
promoted Jean-Baptiste Graftieaux, its ex-Compliance
Officer and Europe CEO, to the position of Global CEO, crediting him for
accelerating its European growth and securing
several institutional partners.
Crypto
in Spain
Bitstamp’s
new gain comes as cryptocurrency exchanges and other financial institutions are
moving into the Southern Europe country. Last month, crypto banking startup
BVNK also gained VASP registration in Spain five months
after it raised $40 million from a Series A funding round. BVNK described the
registration as a springboard for its expansion across the European Union.
In
July, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, obtained its VASP registration from the Bank of Spain.
Moon Tech Spain, the Spanish subsidiary of Binance, applied for registration on
28 January 2022.
Earlier
in June, Bitpanda, a unicorn
cryptocurrency startup based in Austria, also got registered to provide virtual
currency exchange and digital asset custody services in Spain. The approval was
an addition to the startup’s European license lineup: the firm is registered in France, Italy, Sweden
and Austria.
According
to TripleA, a crypto payment gateway provider, 1.1 million Spaniards, or
2.51% of Spain’s total population own cryptocurrency. However, a much recent
study by the National Securities Market Commission, the Spanish government
agency responsible for the financial regulation of the securities markets in
Spain, found that 6.8% of Spaniards have invested in crypto at some point. The
agency noted that this investment is driven primarily…
