Crypto.com granted Dubai crypto license

November 14, 2023 Coin Telegraph

approval

The license is pending operational approval and allows Crypto.com’s Dubai entity to offer exchange, broker-dealer, and lending and borrowing services.

Crypto exchange Crypto.com’s Dubai entity was granted a Virtual Assets Service Provider (VASP) license by the city’s regulator, pending operational approval.

In a Nov. 14 press release, Crypto.com said that once fully approved by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), its local business CRO DAX Middle East FZE can offer retail and institutional investors exchange, broker-dealer, and lending and borrowing services.

https://t.co/vCNztATkNg is proud to announce that we have been granted a Virtual Asset Service Provider Licence from Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority, building on our position in the #UAE market.

Learn more:https://t.co/0anXDLsxTv pic.twitter.com/EcgXCGEkMm
— Crypto.com (@cryptocom) November 14, 2023

Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek said in a statement that it looks forward to working with regulators to contribute to Dubai’s crypto industry and said the city is a “leading market when designing effective regulation.”

In March 2022, the exchange pinned Dubai as its Middle East and North Africa hub. It received a provisional license from VARA in June 2022, followed by a minimal viable product (MVP) preparatory license in March this year.

With United States regulators taking action against crypto firms, Dubai has become a sought-after destination for crypto businesses seeking legal clarity — with many firms eyeing the crypto-friendly jurisdiction as an emerging digital assets hub in the Middle East.

Binance Dubai General Manager Alex Chehad said that unlike the U.S., Dubai and the United Arab Emirates have provided a clear regulatory framework for crypto firms to follow, which made it easier for large companies like Binance to establish permanent headquarters in the region.

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South Korean exchange Upbit gets initial license nod from Singapore

October 16, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Central Bank

Upbit Singapore scored initial approval from the country’s central bank and financial regulator for a local crypto license.

The Singapore entity for Upbit, South Korea’s largest exchange by volume, has been given in-principal approval for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license in Singapore.

On Oct. 16, Upbit Singapore said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) gave the in-principle license nod, allowing it to continue with digital payment token services to institutional investors while awaiting its full license.

Upbit Singapore founder and CEO Alex Kim said in a statement that the firm was founded in 2018 but called the recent approval a strategic milestone for it to deepen its local presence.

*The Upbit Singapore team, pictured in the city’s downtown area. Source: Upbit Singapore*

Azman Hamid, the firm’s compliance chief, said the approval reflects its commitment to building its businesses in Singapore. “We will contribute to further establish Singapore as the leading hub for the next generation of financial businesses,” he added.

A potential full approval for Upbit would see the exchange join a total of 15 crypto firms with full MPI digital payment token serve licenses from MAS.

In October alone, the Singaporean entities for Coinbase, Ripple and Sygnum Bank all received license approvals from MAS — pushing the number of MAS-licensed digital payment token service firms to 15.

On Oct. 2, Coinbase received full approval for its MPI license, with crypto trading firm GSR scoring in-principal approval for its MPI the same day. Swiss crypto bank subsidiary Sygnum Singapore scored its full MPI license a day later and Ripple received its full MPI on Oct. 4.

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Ripple gets formal approval for Singapore payments license

October 4, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Central Bank

Ripple said it received its fully-fledged digital payment tokens license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Ripple says it received a license to operate as a major payments institution from Singapore's central bank allowing it to continue operations in the country after receiving in-principle approval in June.

In an Oct. 4 blog post, the company said its local entity, Ripple Markets APAC Pte Ltd, was granted the full license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

It’s official: Ripple is now fully licensed to provide digital payment token services in Singapore by @MAS_sg! Ripple is committed to delivering real-world crypto solutions for businesses in APAC.

Learn more: https://t.co/jD8xSc2pdd
— Ripple (@Ripple) October 4, 2023

Ripple chief Brad Garlinghouse said in a statement that "Singapore has developed into one of the leading fintech and digital asset hubs striking the balance between innovation, consumer protection and responsible growth.”

Garlinghouse said Singapore was home to the firms Asia Pacific headquarters since 2017 and the country "has been pivotal to Ripple’s global business."

The license allows Ripple to provide digital payment token services. It joins a list of 14 others given the same license by MAS including the local arms of crypto exchanges Coinbase, Independent Reserve and Blockchain.com.

Blockchain.com scores payment license from Singapore central bank

August 7, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Gate.io to enter Hong Kong following city’s $6.4M budget allocation to Web3

February 23, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Budget

Gate’s founder called Hong Kong a “hub,” meanwhile, the city’s financial secretary said the region “must keep up” with the “huge potential” of Web3.

Cryptocurrency exchange Gate.io is gearing up to launch a presence in Hong Kong following the local government's planned $6.4 million (50 million Hong Kong dollar) cash injection into Web3 as per the city’s 2023-24 budget.

Gate Group said on Feb. 22 that it will apply for a crypto license in Hong Kong allowing it to launch “Gate HK.” The firm's local company, Hippo Financial Services, gained a license in August 2022 to provide virtual asset custodial services.

It comes as Hong Kong financial secretary, Paul Chan, announced the Web3-related funding and the creation of a crypto task force in a Feb. 22 budget speech.

He added Web3 has “huge potential” and the Special Administrative Region of China must keep pace with its “continuous development.”

“We must keep up with the times and seize this golden opportunity to spearhead innovation development.”

Chan outlined the funds would go toward expediting “the Web3 ecosystem development” by organizing international seminars, promoting business cooperation and arranging “workshops for young people.”

He noted a “large number” of companies are considering setting up shop in the city due to the government’s cryptocurrency laws. Gate Group’s founder, Dr. Han Lin, called Hong Kong “a global strategic market” and a “hub” due to its “industry-leading regulatory regime.”

Very excited about Hong Kong. Having obtained the TCSP License in HK, Gate Group is also preparing for a crypto license and fine tuning Gate HK, a new entity tailored to serve HK’s growing crypto market, stay tuned.
— Lin Han (@han_gate) February 21, 2023

Hong Kong shared its plans on Feb. 20 with a new licensing regime and a proposal to allow retail traders access to licensed crypto platforms.

Due to the influx of business interest, Chan said he “will establish and lead a task force” on virtual asset development made up of members from financial regulators, market participants and “relevant policy bureaux.”

The task force would “provide recommendations on the sustainable and responsible development of the sector” according to Chan.

Hong Kong started its push to gain status as a global crypto hub in October 2022 by launching crypto-friendly policy frameworks to regulate the industry within the city.

Despite being a region of China, the city’s special status allows for its own laws and governance. Hong Kong’s crypto push would seem to be in contrast to China’s crypto ban, but it's reported that officials in Beijing are quietly backing the region's crypto ambitions.

French central bank governor pushes for crypto licensing ahead of EU laws

January 6, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bank of France

The Bank of France’s head said turmoil in the crypto markets proves the need to move to a mandatory licensing scheme for crypto firms “as soon as possible.”

The Bank of France’s governor has called for more stringent licensing requirements for crypto companies in France, citing the current turmoil in the crypto markets.

During a speech in Paris on Jan. 5, Francois Villeroy de Galhau said France shouldn’t wait for upcoming EU crypto laws to enact obligatory licensing for local digital asset service providers (DASPs).

The European Parliament’s Markets in Crypto Assets bill (MiCA) that provides a crypto-licensing regime isn’t expected to come into force until potentially sometime in 2024.

According to a Jan. 5 Bloomberg report, Villeroy addressed the country’s financial industry in his speech, stating:

“All the disorder in 2022 feeds a simple belief: it is desirable for France to move to an obligatory licensing of DASP as soon as possible, rather than just registration.”

Currently, crypto businesses providing crypto trading and custody are required to be “registered” with the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), the country’s market regulator.

A DASP license is optional, with those licensed forced to comply with a slew of requirements related to business organization, conduct and financing.

However, out of the 60 AMF-registered crypto firms, none are currently licensed as a DASP.

*Villeroy speaking in December 2017 at a panel in Paris. Source: The Jacques Delors Institute*

The call from Villeroy comes after an amendment was proposed in December by Senate finance commission member Hervé Maurey to eliminate a clause allowing companies to operate without a license.

Current laws in France allow firms to operate unlicensed until 2026 even if, or when, MiCA passes into law and establishes a licensing regime.

Deliberations in Parliament regarding the amendment will begin in January.

MiCA has been grinding its way through the EU Parliament since September 2020.

On Oct. 10, the crypto framework was passed by the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, the result of negotiations between the EU Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament.

The final plenary vote for MiCA was rescheduled from the end of 2022 to February. European Parliament member Stefan Berger explained to Cointelegraph in November the reason for the delay was “the enormous amount of work for the lawyer linguists, given the length of the legal text.”

German banking giant Commerzbank applies for crypto license

April 21, 2022 Coin Telegraph

BaFin

A spokesperson for Commerzbank confirmed to local media that it applied for the license with BaFin earlier this year in a first for a major bank in Germany.

One of the largest banking institutions in Germany has confirmed it applied for a local crypto license earlier this year, marking the first time a major bank has made a move toward cryptocurrencies in the country.

A spokesperson from Commerzbank confirmed to local media outlet Börsen-Zeitung on April 14 that it “applied for the crypto custody license in the first quarter of 2022.” If approved it would be authorized to offer exchange services along with custody and protection of crypto-assets.

Commerzbank serves over 18 million customers and over 70,000 institutional clients, and the cryptocurrency offering will reportedly target its institutional client base.

Since Jan. 1 2020 any business wishing to offer cryptocurrency services in Germany must first seek approval from the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority also known as BaFin.

Currently only four companies have approval but BaFin states it has over 25 applications pending from firms wishing to operate crypto custody businesses.

Coinbase Germany was the first to be approved by the regulator in June 2021 and the Berlin based financial technology firm Upvest was most recently approved for a license in March.

Commerzbank has seen involvement in blockchain projects as far back as 2018, and carried out some of the first transactions on a distributed ledger technology (DLT) security lending platform with other major banks the following year.

More recently, in August 2021 the firm entered into a partnership to develop blockchain-based digital marketplaces for existing asset classes such as art and real estate.

Germany introduced a raft of reforms, regulations and further adoption of blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in 2021.

German investors are also keen on adopting crypto. A March report by Kucoin revealed 44% of Germans are “motivated to invest in cryptocurrencies and “37% of German crypto investors have been trading cryptocurrencies for over a year.”

BitLicensed Crypto Firms Ordered to Pay Annual Assessment Fees in New York

April 19, 2022 Coin Telegraph

assessment fees

The fees will bring virtual currency companies on par with those paid by banking and insurance institutions as a way for the state to recoup operating expense costs and “best support” the industry.

The cost of running a crypto business in New York is about to rise with the state government gearing up to require companies holding a BitLicense to pay assessment fees to ensure they’re complying with regulations.

The rule was included in New York State’s FY2023 budget signed into law on April 9th by Governor Kathy Hochul giving the state's Department Of Financial Services (DFS) a “new authority to collect supervisory costs from licensed virtual currency businesses,” according to a statement by the DFS.

DFS Superintendent Adrienne Harris said the fees would bring virtual currency businesses in line with those already paid by institutions such as banking and insurance companies and added:

“New York was the first to start licensing and supervising virtual currency companies, and we continue to attract more licensees and the most crypto startup funding of any state in the nation.”

The state of New York was the first in the U.S. to require crypto companies to be licensed with the introduction of the now known “BitLicense”, the application fees for such a permit are currently $5,000 and are subject to vague capital requirements determined by the New York DFS.

The annual assessment fee amount that the DFS will charge crypto firms is currently unknown, but the same fees for other regulated financial institutions can cost tens of thousands of dollars a year.

The DFS states the fees are to assist with paying the operating expenses of regulating crypto firms and “will empower the Department to build staff with the capacity and expertise to best regulate and support this rapidly growing industry.”

Businesses that accept crypto as payment, create software for the crypto space such as self-custody wallets, or give advice on crypto trading aren’t subject to the BitLicense and corresponding new fees.

Recently, the regulation and licensing of crypto in the state have come under fire with billionaire investor Bill Ackman sharing his thoughts in February about New York’s failing policies and how it could make him leave the state.

Ackman appealed to Mayor Eric Adams and Governor Hochul to address the increasing concerns around regulation, saying that easing restrictions and removing regulatory barriers could make New York a “crypto center of innovation.”

Mayor Adams ran with plans to make New York City the “center of the cryptocurrency industry” even taking his first three paychecks in Bitcoin (BTC). Analysis from Cointelegraph in November shows that it’s really up to the New York DFS and state government to enact changes that will attract the industry.

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