BitGo Gains EU-Wide Approval to Serve Institutions Under New Crypto Rules

BitGo has secured regulatory approval from Germany's Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, BaFin, enabling the U.S. crypto custody provider to expand its services across the European Union's member countries.

The license positions BitGo as one of the first American digital asset firms to gain recognition under the EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, a unified regulatory system, rolling out crypto custody services for its institutional clients across the bloc this year.

Receiving the approval shows its "commitment to the highest standards of security, transparency, and trust," Harald Patt, managing director of the company's European arm, said in a statement released Monday.

BitGo broke ground for its EU headquarters in Frankfurt in 2023 as part of a broader push to expand across the Eurozone.

Since launching its BitGo Europe subsidiary, the firm has secured registrations in countries including Italy, Spain, Poland, and Greece. Its approval from BaFin enables it to operate across all 27 EU member states under a single regulatory framework.

The company joins other crypto businesses that have pursued EU credentials, including Circle and Crypto.com.

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What is the MiCA framework?

The Markets in Crypto-Assets regulation is the European Union's first comprehensive legal framework for crypto assets.

Passed by the European Parliament in April 2023, MiCA aims to harmonize rules across EU member states, covering stablecoins, exchanges, and custodial services. It requires crypto firms to register with national regulators and meet consumer protection, transparency, and capital requirements.

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Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) is a piece of European Union regulation that will likely become law in July 2023, with some of its rules taking effect in July 2024 and others by January 2025. It is part of a wider digital finance package that has been put together within the EU, and has been hailed as the most significant crypto-specific regulation anywhere in the world. But what does it involve? What does MiCA apply to? According to the most recent available version of the text, MiCA applies to...

StablecoinStablecoin issuers, meanwhile, face strict oversight, including reserve mandates. MiCA also targets market abuse and insider trading in crypto markets.

BitGo's European regulatory win contrasts with its experience in the United States, where the firm faced issues with its plans to become a qualified custody solution in New York in 2020, amid friction with the Securities and Exchange Commission, then led by Gary Gensler.

It later received approval and reached $1.75 billion in valuation by 2023.

In March this year, the U.S. Treasury met with BitGo and other Bitcoin custodians in the U.S., convening on a panel called "Safeguarding America's Bitcoin."

Earlier in April, BitGo was among the listed panel for the SEC's roundtable on crypto custody.

Decrypt reached out to BitGo for comments on the differences in regulatory frameworks between the U.S. and the E.U.