Crypto exchange Paybis has received approval under the EU framework for Markets in Crypto Assets regulation (MiCA) and PSD2 for a payments service license. This means that Paybis can now offer crypto services across all EU member states and the EEA.
The approval was issued by Latvijas Banka, Latvia’s central bank, to SIA Paybis Europe and announced on the same day.
Paybis reports that it currently serves 7 million users.
Paybis says that businesses in Europe may now benefit from its regulated services, including stablecoins, digital asset payments, EMT transactions, and crypto.
Paybis co-Founder and CEO, Innokenty Isers, called the approvals as a defining moment for his company.
“Being CASP [crypto asset service provider] authorized and Payment Institution regulated puts us in an elite club of companies that hold both licenses. Fundamentally, it allows us to make a broad, future-focused offering, including working with stablecoins – one of the most important developments in finance today. And together they give us the rails to serve secure, regulated access to crypto and payments across all 27 EU countries.”
Isers said they chose Latvia because of the regulatory framework established by the Bank of Latvia.
“Our ambition is to become a global powerhouse for regulated crypto and payments – making secure access to crypto the default for people and businesses everywhere. This is the beginning – we’re just getting started.”
Paybis noted that the majority of exchanges active in the EU hold legacy registrations, which are AML registrations and not CASP-authorized and there are very few with dual approvals.
Paybis also holds approvals in the US and Canada.