Kraken, a crypto trading exchange, has secured authorisation from the Central Bank of Ireland under new EU regulations, which the company said would allow it to expand more quickly across the Europe.
It is the first licence that the Irish watchdog has issued under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (Mica), which came into effect last year.
Kraken already held so-called virtual asset service provider (Vasp) registrations in Ireland and a number of other European markets, including, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.
“Securing a license from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI), with its long heritage and experience as a rigorous financial regulator, isn’t just about compliance. It’s a powerful signal of Kraken’s commitment to expanding the crypto ecosystem through responsible innovation,” said Arjun Sethi, co-chief executive of the company in a statement.
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“Over the past several years, our team has worked tirelessly to meet the CBI’s gold standard regulatory expectations. This license reflects that effort and places us in a strong position to expand our product offering, grow our institutional and retail client base, and deliver secure, accessible, and fully regulated crypto services to millions more people across the EU.”
The development bucks a recent trend. Gemini, the cryptocurrency exchange founded by the US billionaire Winklevoss twins, switched its headquarters from Ireland to Malta earlier this year citing a better environment for “innovation among fintech and digital assets”.
Last week, Coinbase, one of the world’s biggest crypto marketplaces, revealed it had switched its European regulatory hub from Ireland to Luxembourg, where it has a Mica licence.
Central Bank governor Gabriel Makhouf has long taken a sceptical view of crypto assets, saying most explicitly in a blog post two years ago that it “might be more accurate” to describe them as “Ponzi schemes” rather than investments.
Mica aims to bring crypto under the same regulatory umbrella as traditional finance, but some fear that uneven enforcement across the EU could undermine its goals. France’s financial markets regulator has publicly warned that the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (Esma) lack of direct authority could lead to a “regulatory race to the bottom”.
Kraken said that its Mica authorisation, along with European licences under the markets in financial instruments directive (Mifid) and as an electronic money institution (Emi) will enable it extend its regulated offering to millions of clients across the EU.
“Together, these licenses support significant growth opportunities across retail, professional, and institutional client segments, including in spot trading, derivatives and payments,” it said.
