- Digital bank Revolut has received approval to offer bitcoin and crypto services to 17 million customers in the EEA.
- The nod comes prior to the introduction of an European overhaul legal framework for digital assets and service providers.
- The bank will continue to offer services in the U.K. and service its existing 20 million users.
Revolut, a digital bank with 20 million customers, has received approval from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CYSEC) to allow it to offer bitcoin and crypto services across the European Economic Area (EEA), per a report from AltFi.
The authorization will enable Revolut to offer bitcoin services throughout the EEA to 17 million customers through a digital asset hub it plans to build out in Cyprus. The company also noted it will continue to serve its U.K. constituency even though its application through the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has yet to be resolved. Revolut, however, is still able to operate under the FCA’s Temporary Registration Regime.
Revolut’s approval comes ahead of the pending Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) law which seeks to ensure greater consumer protections in Europe while combating money laundering and fraud. However, this particular framework for digital assets has yet to be put into a full text.
The parliamentarian overseeing the completion of MiCA, Stefan Burger, announced that the Parliament, Commission and Council had all come to an agreement regarding the bill. Furthermore, Burger made it clear in his announcement that there was no ban on proof of work (PoW) technologies embedded into the unpublished bill.
Thus, with a new legal framework pending, institutions like Revolut will need to take these necessary steps to become regulated within the current purview of the EEA while possibly experiencing further scrutiny once the framework of MiCA is published. Consequently, Revolut has reportedly become the first entity to achieve the status of crypto-asset service provider (CASP) from the CYSEC opening the digital bank to 17 million customers across the EEA.
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