Kraken obtains financial license approvals in Spain and Ireland.

Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has obtained an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license from the Central Bank of Ireland and a virtual asset service provider (VASP) registration from the Bank of Spain.

As stated in the announcement on Sept. 26, the EMI license allows Kraken to broaden its euro-to-crypto trading services to 27 member states of the European Union and countries within the European Economic Area. Additionally, the VASP registration in Spain permits Kraken to provide exchange and wallet custodial services to residents of Spain. The company is also registered as a VASP in both Italy and Ireland.

Kraken’s vice president of global operations, Curtis Ting, remarked: “We see a solid foundation for crypto in Europe, which has progressive regulations that allow us to expand with assurance.” The platform currently offers over 200 trading pairs across six fiat currencies — the British pound, euro, U.S. dollar, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, and Australian dollar.

On Sept. 21, Cointelegraph reported that Kraken faced a lawsuit from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) regarding claims that its Australian subsidiary, Bit Trade, did not conduct market determinations prior to providing margin trading services. Jonathon Miller, managing director of Kraken’s Australian operations, indicated that ASIC’s action was unexpected, as he believed Bit Trade was in compliance with local regulations.

Earlier this year, Kraken sought restricted dealer registration in Canada to adhere to new regulations mandating that all VASPs register with securities administrators or risk being banned. Exchanges Binance and OKX exited Canada following the implementation of these new rules.

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