Today, May 25, a bitcoin technology company Xapo announced that it will be expanding its operations in Gibraltar. The company already holds a financial services license in Gibraltar and is in the process of seeking further authorisations from the regulatory bodies of the British overseas-territory.
Founded in 2014, Xapo is purported to be the largest custodian of bitcoin in the world. The firm offers customers ‘cold storage’ for their bitcoins meaning their stashes of the cryptocurrency are stored offline in secure vaults. Xapo used to offer bitcoin debit cards but Visa, along with regulatory authorities, put an end to the service earlier this year.
In January of this year the Gibraltarian government launched the Digital Ledger Technology Regulatory Framework that provides clear guidance to crypto companies wanting to set up camp on the island. Since then it has announced that it is drafting initial coin offering (ICO) regulation that is likely to go live in October 2018. Xapo has already received a level of regulatory approval from the island’s authorities but is looking get further permissions in order to continue its expansion plans.
Xapo has clearly made some important connections in Gibraltar already. During his recent trip to the island, Wences Casares, Xapo’s CEO, met with the head of the Gibraltarian government, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, and the Minister for Commerce, Albert Isola.
