Ripple confirms intention to pursue MiCA license for EU expansion

Payment solution company Ripple has confirmed its intention to pursue a Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) license to expand into the EU.

In messages sent to Cointelegraph, a Ripple spokesperson said the company intends “to become MiCA-compliant” as it recognizes “significant opportunity in the European market.”

The statement follows Ripple’s registration of Ripple Payments Europe S.A. in Luxembourg in late April.

On Tuesday, industry media outlet Ledger Insights reported that the company had applied for an electronic money institution license in Luxembourg. Ripple refused to confirm or deny the report, saying only that the firm does not “have any updates to provide currently.”

Ripple’s expansion to Europe

Luxembourg is emerging as a hub for crypto firms seeking MiCA compliance. In late June, major US-based publicly traded crypto exchange Coinbase secured its MiCA license from the Luxembourg Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier and named the region as its EU headquarters.

In mid-May, crypto exchange Bitstamp also announced that it obtained a crypto asset service provider license under MiCA from Luxembourg regulators. A similar license is held by Clearstream Banking, an institution involved in the European Central Bank’s digital euro trials.

Another example is Standard Chartered, one of the world’s largest banks, which launched its cryptocurrency services in Europe after obtaining a digital asset license in Luxembourg in early January.

Still, Luxembourg authorities do not appear to view the crypto sector in a particularly lenient way. In late May, Luxembourg classified virtual asset service providers as high-risk entities for money laundering in a national review, highlighting concerns over the crypto industry’s exposure to financial crime.