BitPay secures Dutch licensing under MiCA, plans to expand stablecoin payments

Crypto payments company BitPay announced that it had secured a license by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, allowing the company to operate in European Union member states under the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework.

On Thursday, BitPay said that the approval as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) by Dutch financial authorities would allow the company to expand its services in the region, including crypto and stablecoin payments. The company was one of the latest to be licensed under MiCA following a July 1 requirement for all entities offering crypto-related services to be regulated.

“Europe is one of the most important regions for the future of payments,” said BitPay’s European head, Jonathan Arler.

Source: BitPay

Although many crypto companies had been attempting to secure approvals under MiCA before the July 1 deadline, some of the biggest exchanges, like Binance, abandoned initial efforts with EU regulators. Ripple announced last week that it had secured a CASP license with Luxembourg’s financial regulator.