Bitstamp, a Luxembourg-based cryptocurrency exchange, has gained a virtual asset service provider registration in Spain almost four months after it received a similar approval in Italy.
With the Spanish approval, the exchange can now offer crypto-to-fiat and electronic wallet custody services to its users in Spain, CoinDesk reports on Thursday. Bitsamp already operates in Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
The new development at Bitstamp comes six months after the European crypto exchange promoted Jean-Baptiste Graftieaux, its ex-Compliance Officer and CEO of Europe, to the position of Global CEO, crediting him for accelerating its European growth and securing several institutional partners.
Crypto in Spain
Bitstamp’s new gain comes as cryptocurrency exchanges and other financial institutions are moving into the Southern European country. Last month, the crypto banking startup, BVNK also gained VASP registration in Spain five months after it raised $40 million from a Series A funding round. BVNK described the registration as a springboard for its expansion across the European Union.
In July, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, obtained its VASP registration from the Bank of Spain. Moon Tech Spain, the Spanish subsidiary of Binance, applied for registration on 28 January 2022.
Earlier in June, Bitpanda, a unicorn cryptocurrency startup based in Austria, got registered to provide virtual currency exchange and digital asset custody services in Spain. The approval was an addition to the startup’s European license lineup: the firm is registered in France, Italy, Sweden and Austria.
According to TripleA, a crypto payment gateway provider, 1.1 million Spaniards, or 2.51% of Spain’s total population own cryptocurrency. However, a much recent study by the National Securities Market Commission, the Spanish government agency responsible for the financial regulation of the securities markets in Spain, found that 6.8% of Spaniards have invested in crypto at some point. The agency noted that this investment is driven primarily by profit.
