Per reports, Ripple Lab’s Ireland subsidiary, Ripple Market Ireland Limited, has secured a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license. As a registered VASP, the crypto firm can facilitate digital asset transactions across several addresses and wallets.
Ripple Labs’ Europe Expansion
Ripple Labs recently made a significant step forward by establishing operations in Ireland. The firm received approval from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) to provide digital asset services to people in the country.
Ripple Markets Ireland Limited was listed as a registered Virtual Asset Service Provider by the CBI on Tuesday, December 19. The American blockchain firm sees its Irish approval as a springboard for larger ambitions in the European market.
The company is also preparing to offer its services to clients all over Europe once the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) comes into force at the end of 2024. The MiCA regulation is critical to Ripple’s plans to expand and cater to a larger audience in the EU bloc.
This move also demonstrates the firm’s commitment to expanding its services and being a part of the region’s evolving regulatory framework governing digital assets.
Other Notable Wins
Ripple’s global regulatory approval journey has been quite eventful. It obtained the Monetary Authority’s Major Payments Institution license in Singapore in October. The approval authorized it to serve customers in that region through its subsidiary, Ripple Markets APAC Pte Ltd.
Furthermore, Ripple has made significant strides in the United States digital finance ecosystem, securing up to 35 money transmitter licenses (MTLs) since the start of 2023. The company believes that these licenses will enable it to provide an exceptional customer experience, setting a high standard in the industry.
Ripple also received approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority, enabling it to launch its services in November 2023. The rising use of XRP within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) was a catalyst for this approval.
The implication of this approval is significant: as a licensed DIFC virtual asset enterprise, Ripple can offer XRP as a virtual asset service. More importantly, Ripple believes that the Dubai approval will open up new opportunities for XRP Ledger applications, including regional payments.
The Ripple-SEC Faceoff
Recall that Ripple was partially victorious in a lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in July 2023. According to Judge Analisa Torres, the XRP token sales on exchanges do not comprise investment contracts and thus do not violate securities laws.
On the other hand, the institutional sale of the tokens was deemed to have violated federal securities laws. The judge’s decision provided some regulatory clarity for players in the cryptocurrency industry.
However, the SEC contended that most digital assets meet the definition of security under US law, requiring issuers to go through a registration process before selling them to the public.
