BitGo has secured regulatory approval from Germany’s BaFin to expand its custody and trading services in Europe.
BitGo Europe GmbH, a subsidiary of digital asset infrastructure firm Bitcoin, has received approval from Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) for the extension of its license. This new development expands the firm’s offering in the region to include regulated crypto trading services.
BitGo and the New Plan for EU Investors
According to BitGo, the company has won the German regulator’s approval to offer regulated crypto trading services to residents. According to its announcement, it would run these trading services out of Frankfurt, Germany. The regulated offerings will consist of both Over-the-Counter (OTC) trading and an electronic trading platform for thousands of digital assets and stablecoins.
This means that institutional investors in Europe can now leverage BitGo’s comprehensive crypto OTC trading desk. The California-based digital asset custody firm also boasts of running a high-performance electronic trading platform for seamless spot trading. Going forward, this will be available across thousands of digital assets and stablecoins in the European Union.
Alongside these offerings, investors will be open to a handful of liquidity sources, such as top-tier market makers and exchanges. This way, they are equipped to trade at competitive prices with quality execution. Based on this milestone, BitGo has joined the likes of Coinbase and Kraken, which already offer such custody, staking, and trading services in Europe.
As for Coinbase, it had officially registered as a VASP in France as far back as 2023. This registration gave it full permission to handle trading, custody, and other crypto services in the region. Notably, most of Coinbase’s licenses in Europe came from a desire to expand its business outside the United States, where it was facing regulatory challenges at the time.
The Broad BitGo Compliance Moves in the EU
It is worth noting that BitGo already received the EU’s Market in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license from BaFin in May. The license enables the company to offer regulated digital asset services across the European Union. Speaking on the achievement, Harald Patt, Managing Director of BitGo Europe GmbH, noted that the license reflects the firm’s commitment to regulatory compliance.
“We are proud to receive our MiCA license from BaFin, and look forward to supporting the continued growth of crypto adoption in Europe. This license underscores our commitment to the highest standards of security, transparency, and trust,” Patt added.
BitGo equally holds registrations in other countries like Italy, Spain, Poland, and Greece. It has a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The exchange also pursued a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in South Korea.
Instead of securing a license in South Korea, it opened the doors to the country’s telecommunication giant SK Telecom and the leading financial holding company Hana Financial. Precisely, both companies became major shareholders in their regional arm, BitGo Korea.
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