Crypto Firm Blockchain.com Registers as a Virtual Asset Provider In Italy

According to reports, London-based cryptocurrency firm Blockchain.com announced on Thursday that it has successfully registered as a virtual asset provider in Italy, joining a host of companies to do so recently.

In February, the European nation created a special registry with its brokerage regulator to list cryptocurrency operators with a stable presence in the country should they meet a list of special requirements. In a statement, Blockchain.com said it was now allowed to offer cryptocurrency and digital wallet services to Italian citizens and institutional investigators under the purview of the regulation, known as the Organizmo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM). The OAM is the regulatory body responsible for overseeing anti-money laundering efforts in the country and oversees financial agents and credit brokers. It says it can collect and share with anti-mafia and anti-terrorism investigators in Italy data provided by cryptocurrency companies on their operations and clients.  

Regulators from across the world are hard at work figuring out how to bring to heel the crypto sectors, which at the moment are subject to patch rules, to say the least. Issues such as consumer protection, financial stability threats, and illicit usage of digital assets are at the top of the agenda. Cryptocurrency platforms are urgently seeking to strengthen their positions in Europe before groundbreaking rules agreed on last month by the European Union come into play. Under the rules, crypto firms will need a license and customer safeguards to issue and sell digital tokens in the zone. They are expected to come into effect in 2024. Blockchain.com said,

This registration strengthens our position to offer services across Europe.

Other major exchanges have also managed to secure the regulatory nod in Italy. In July, Coinbase successfully obtained approval to offer crypto services in the country. Following close on its heels, the Singapore-based exchange Crypto.com managed to expand its operations to Italy after securing a regulatory license in the country.

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