CoinMetro Acquires Cryptocurrency Trading Licences in Estonia

CoinMetro, the cryptocurrency trading platform, today announces that it has secured two licences for cryptocurrency trading activities from the Estonian government. The licences allow CoinMetro to offer fiat to cryptocurrency exchange services and cryptocurrency and fiat currency eWallet services. These licences represent the first step towards being able to operate its fully regulated trading platform, based in the EU, and comes just weeks after the conclusion of its successful token sale.

CoinMetro has been founded by the experienced team behind the regulated forex broker, FXPIG. It will offer a ‘all-in-one’ crypto trading environment, combining three major components of the digital economy – a cryptocurrency exchange, a trading platform, and an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) platform.

The virtual currency wallet licence and the exchange licence are CoinMetro’s first pair of licences, enabling the company to operate legitimately under Estonian law and welcome customers from around the world. The licences provide a framework for CoinMetro to establish robust checks for Anti-Money Laundering, Counter-Terrorism Financing, and Know-Your-Customer (KYC).

The exchange licence allows the cryptocurrency platform to exchange fiat to crypto, crypto to fiat, and crypto to crypto, while the eWallet licence allows CoinMetro customers to keep, store and transfer virtual currencies via digital wallets. The eWallet offering will include ‘hot wallet’ – typically used for the everyday spending of cryptocurrencies and for holding smaller quantities of cryptocurrency – and ‘cold wallet’ services – generally used for long-term secure storage of cryptocurrencies.

CoinMetro is now seeking an e-money licence from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This will give the platform access to the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), which is host to more than 500 million consumers and over 20 million businesses.

Kevin Murcko, CEO of CoinMetro said: “We’ve set no geographical limits and are determined in our aim to bring transparent, simplified access to the cryptocurrency market everywhere, where laws allow. With regulation on our side, CoinMetro offers a safe haven from the forthcoming legislative storm that has the potential to close many exchanges which aren’t compliant.”

Estonia is a popular location for crypto-related activity due to its open regulation and progressive attitude towards cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The country has moved to digitize citizenship, healthcare and banking on the blockchain, and is launching its own crypto tokens, ‘Estcoin’, designed for businesses in its e-Residency scheme.