UK headquartered digital bank Revolut has received approval from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) to offer cryptocurrency and digital asset services.
According to media reports, the green light for this new base will enable it to transform into a new European cryptocurrency hub, allowing it to provide additional crypto asset services to its 17 million European customers.
Clients based in the UK, who form the bulk of Revolut's customer base, will continue to be serviced by its UK-registered entity.
CySEC's approval follows the authorisation the company has already obtained in other markets, including Spain and Singapore.
"We welcome the EU-wide regulation and wholeheartedly embrace the European Parliament's clear intention to support innovation whilst requiring strong customer protection measures to prevent any type of market abuse," a Revolut spokesperson told technology and finance website AltFi.
"In establishing a hub for our crypto operations in the EU, we recognise that CySEC has in-depth knowledge of crypto and its efforts to be a leader in crypto regulation," the spokesperson added.
Revolut further said the decision to pick Cyprus was the result of an extensive research process, where it compared all EU countries, due to the country's "sophisticated and robust regulatory regime, as well as the strength of the existing crypto industry in Cyprus".
The new EU regulatory framework, markets in crypto-assets (MiCA), went live on June 30, 2022, aimed at gathering crypto assets, crypto asset issuers and crypto asset service providers under a single regulatory framework for the first time.
"Recent developments on this quickly evolving sector have confirmed the urgent need for an EU-wide regulation," French Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty Bruno Le Maire had said.
