FTX Europe announced that it has received approval from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), to operate “as a Cyprus investment firm (CIF) allowing the Company to fully own the local investment firm it previously acquired.”
Patrick Gruhn, Head of FTX Europe, commented:
“After launching our European operations earlier this year we’re excited to receive approval from the regulators in Cyprus. Operating under this license will further our goal of being a European entity regulated to the highest standard. We look forward to continuing our productive relationship with CySEC as we continue to expand our European offerings.”
The Cyprus Investment Firm License granted by CySEC will “require FTX EU to adhere to rigorous financial standards under European Directive 2014/65/EU on Markets in Financial Instruments (commonly known as ‘MiFID II’ framework), which include the segregation and protection of client funds, full transparency of its business operations, and capital adequacy controls.”
With the Cyprus Investment Firm License, FTX EU is able “to serve the whole European Economic Area.”
FTX is reportedly “the only crypto exchange worldwide to provide a full suite of exchange services under a full MiFID II license, which is held to much higher standards than local registrations as Crypto Asset Service Providers.”
Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO & Founder of FTX, said:
“Securing this license in the European Union is an important step in achieving our goal of becoming one of the most regulated exchanges in the world. We are continuing to work with CySEC and regulators across the globe to be the leader in the digital asset industry when it comes to meeting the financial standards that are expected of traditional financial institutions.”
As noted in an update shared with CI, Cyprus is considered to be “a highly reputed jurisdiction for investment firms and provides regulated firms access to the entire European Economic Area also known as ‘passporting’ which includes the member states of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.”
FTX Europe currently “offers FTX’s … products and services to European clients via a licensed investment firm with passportable licenses across the European economic area.”
As mentioned in the announcement, FTX Europe with its holding company in Switzerland, is the European and Middle East division of FTX, “a cryptocurrency exchange built by traders, for traders.”
Through FTX Europe, users in the European Economic Area and the Middle East can access FTX’s innovative products, including derivatives, options and volatility products, tokenized stocks, and other services and products.