According to the chief executive of Bitstamp, one of the renowned crypto exchanges, they have seen a great deal of crypto interest on their platform from institutional investors.
He elaborated that there are a number of institutional companies that are interested in making their first move in the crypto market.
Bitstamp’s CEO
Jean-Baptiste Graftieaux, the CEO of Bistamp, expressed his views regarding crypto regulation. He also talked about the crypto winter and said that Bitstamp was on a licensing journey.
According to the CEO, Bitstamp is currently applying for a license in multiple jurisdictions. He mentioned that they were in the midst of obtaining licensing in 10 regions of the world.
The executive further asserted that the crypto exchange was planning on expanding its regulatory footprint in the next few quarters.
This is because their aim is to strengthen their position in order to be able to play an active role in the next bull run. He disclosed that the institutional side was showing a strong trend.
He stated that institutional companies were looking to dip their toes in the crypto market, as institutional clients were showing a great deal of interest in the space.
Crypto regulation
The Bitstamp CEO also talked about Europe’s crypto regulation. He stated that what was happening in Europe in regard to regulation was not very smart.
He elaborated that any crypto service provider that wishes to operate in Europe has to register individually in each country in the continent.
They have to register as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) and he emphasized that the requirements of each country are also different.
The Bitstamp boss said that the introduction of MiCA would definitely turn out to be a game-changer for Europe as it would level the playing field, but even that would take about 18 to 24 months.
The MiCA proposal
The European Commission introduced the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) in September 2020 and it introduced the digital finance strategy of the EC that was aimed at regulating the crypto market.
The European Central Bank (ECB) also gave the MiCA regulation the green light because they want to ensure that a harmonized legal framework can be developed for monitoring crypto assets.
Graftieaux said that after the launch of the MiCA, crypto service providers would only have to establish their activities in one jurisdiction.
As long as they are MiCA-compliant, they will be able to passport their activities across numerous European countries.
According to the Bitstamp chief, this trend was a good one for the crypto industry from a regulatory standpoint. He added that they were also engaging with regulatory authorities for the same.
He elaborated that a number of countries and regions were now focusing on regulating the crypto market, given that it is expanding so rapidly.
The CEO said that the key priority was to ensure that the regulations they introduce are smart and that they can establish a level playing field for crypto businesses.
