Crypto Exchange Kraken Plans To Obtain European License This Year
According to Kraken CEO Jesse Powell his crypto exchange is currently in talks with regulators in Malta, Ireland, and Luxembourg on obtaining a license in the EU, which they aim to have within this year.
US cryptocurrency exchange Kraken is working toward gaining approval to operate in Europe, the company’s founder and CEO Jesse Powell told German business newspaper Handelsblatt.
Kraken is seeking a license in a European Union country and have already engaged in discussions with various regulators. Malta, Luxembourg and Ireland are among Kraken’s target markets. Kraken is one of the largest crypto exchanges, with transaction volume of $1.71 billion over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
Kraken’s London-based Crypto Facilities Ltd., a cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform, is authorized and regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority.
While Kraken claims to comply with the EU’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) applicable requirements, Great Britain’s departure from the European Union means the crypto exchange has had to start looking for new options to re-enter the continent.
Kraken’s rival Coinbase in June successfully obtained a license for crypto custody and trading from German financial services regulator BaFin. Powell told Handelsblatt that Kraken had discussions with BaFin but that local regulation is too difficult, restrictive and too expensive for the company.
Kraken may also be on the path of an initial public offering. In June, Powell said that he was considering a traditional IPO instead of the direct listing route taken by Coinbase, whose shares began trading in April.
Commenting on Coinbase’s listing, Powell confirmed at the time that he was considering doing the same, however, seeing the rival’s stock plunge, he later admitted that the initial plan could change, as he was taking “a harder look at a more traditional initial public offering.”
Powell told Handelsblatt that the company is likely to stick to that vision, with a huge checklist of about 1,000 tasks to be resolved before the final decision is ultimately made.
“For us it is good that Coinbase was the first to go public,” Powell said, adding that the company is also closely watching the events around Robinhood, the crypto-friendly trading app that went public in July.
While Kraken hasn’t yet published its latest financial results, Powell made it clear that he expects a “record year” for the company. According to him, in January and February 2021 alone, the exchange gained more users than in the whole of the previous year.
In the first six months of the year, Kraken had a trading volume of more than $485 billion which is more than three times the volume reported in 2020.
