FTX Europe Secures CIF License From Cyprus’ CySEC

Sam Bankman-Fried FTX announced that its European subsidiary, FTX Europe has received approval from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) to offer its services as a Cyprus Investment Firm (CIF). 

Notably, FTX is the only cryptocurrency exchange in the world that has received permission to offer a full suite of exchange services under a full Markets in Financial Instruments (MiFID II) license.

The CEO and Co-Founder of FTX, Sam Bankman-Fried popularly known as SBF asserted that “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.”

Also, the Head of FTX Europe  Patrick Gruhn stated that “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,” He continued “We look forward to continuing our productive relationship with CySEC as we continue to expand our European offerings.”

CIF License Empowers FTX Europe

As a responsibility attached to the CIF license, FTX Europe would have to adhere to strict financial norms under the European Directive 2014/65/EU of the Markets in Financial Instruments. This entails separating and protecting customers’ funds, providing transparency on its business operations and capital adequacy control. 

Important to realize is that the CIF license has broadened the reach of FTX Europe. The cryptocurrency exchange will serve all of the European Economic Area (EEA) which includes all of the European Union countries and Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. 

The MiFID II license that FTX Europe now holds has more prominence that other local registration licenses granted to crypto or virtual asset service providers.

Early in the year, FTX expanded its business in Europe after securing a license from CySEC. The license provided the exchange with permission to commence full operations in Europe. Since then, FTX has continued to expand and boost its products and services. 

The year started well for the exchange with a funding round of $400 million which increased its valuation to $32 billion.

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