Bitstamp
has disclosed its ongoing discussions with three prominent European banks about
assisting them in launching cryptocurrency services. These discussions are
poised to bear fruit in the first quarter of the coming year.
Bitstamp’s
negotiations underscore the growing acceptance of digital assets within the
European financial sector. This news comes at a time when the European Union is
actively advancing its regulatory framework for cryptocurrencies, known as Markets
in Crypto Assets (MiCA). It aims at facilitating the entry of traditional
financial institutions into the digital asset space.
Robert
Zagotta, the Global Chief Commercial Officer of Bitstamp and CEO of its US
division, shared this information during an interview with CoinDesk. He
highlighted the increasing interest Bitstamp has garnered in Europe for its
“Bitstamp-as-a-service” offering.
The
service provides white-label licensing and technology solutions designed to
enable banks and fintech firms to offer cryptocurrency trading and investment
services.
Zagotta
revealed that Bitstamp
is currently in advanced negotiations with three major European banks. He did
not disclose their names. He stated that announcements regarding these
partnerships are expected in the first quarter of the upcoming year.
The
contrasting regulatory environments between Europe and the United States were a
key point of discussion in Zagotta’s remarks. Europe has been actively
establishing cryptocurrency
regulations and fostering partnerships between traditional financial
institutions and cryptocurrency firms.
On
the contrary, the United States has taken a more stringent approach. This has
led to some regulated US companies moving their cryptocurrency operations
overseas. Singapore
has been a popular destination.
Bitstamp’s Cautious and Regulatory-Compliant
Strategy
Bitstamp
was granted a BitLicense by the New York Department of Financial Services in
2019 and undergoes audits by Ernst & Young (EY). It has also been
experiencing heightened demand in Europe for a fully regulated perpetual swap
product. Zagotta confirmed that Bitstamp is actively working on providing this
product to meet the needs of its expanding user base.
The
cautious and regulatory-compliant approach adopted by Bitstamp seems to be
paying off. This comes in the wake of the collapse of FTX and regulatory
challenges faced by cryptocurrency exchange giant Binance.
Those
incidents have led to increased scrutiny of the industry. Bitstamp saw…
