Breakdown of cryptocurrency exchange has increased scrutiny on unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges.
Many exchanges are attempting to obtain licenses in multiple countries in order to demonstrate their legitimacy.
A crypto custody license from the German financial authority, BaFin.
With this license, the Austrian-based crypto exchange can now legally market its services to German residents. Bitpanda also claimed to be the first retail cryptocurrency exchange based in Europe to achieve this status.
The breakdown of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange has increased scrutiny on unregulated cryptocurrency exchanges that operate outside of a country's jurisdiction. As a result, many exchanges are attempting to obtain licenses in multiple countries in order to demonstrate their legitimacy.
This latest license adds Austria, the United Kingdom, Italy, the Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden, and France to the list of countries where Bitpanda is officially regulated.
Previously, four other crypto-related companies obtained the license: Coinbase, Kapilendo, Tangany, and Upvest. The latter three are geared toward institutional investors. While Coinbase, based in the US, is a platform for retail investing. Bitpanda claims to be the first "European" retail crypto platform to receive the license because it is based in Austria.
According to Bitpanda CEO Eric Demuth, this license is the result of many months of hard work by the entire Bitpanda team. He stated that the company can now demonstrate to German customers that it is an honest and trustworthy custodian of crypto assets:
“When it comes to Bitpanda, we can and will demonstrate that we mean business by making customer safety our top priority. Obtaining licenses may be difficult in and of itself, but we are completely committed to continuing on this path - because it is the only thing to do.”
Since the collapse of FTX, the issue of how to license and regulate crypto exchanges has been a hot topic. The Bank of England's Deputy Governor, Jon Cunliffe, has revealed that the BoE intends to establish a "regulatory sandbox" to investigate ways to effectively regulate exchanges.
In addition, the United States Senate has also convened a hearing to consider how to effectively regulate crypto exchanges.
Read also: FTX Bankruptcy Hearing: 'Substantial' Assets Stolen
