The enterprise blockchain provider Ripple wants to strengthen its presence in the European Union by seeking to secure a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license from Ireland’s central bank.
Ripple’s General Counsel Stuart Alderoty and CEO Brad Garlinghouse also gave their two cents on FTX’s fiasco, arguing that global regulators should impose comprehensive rules on the sector to prevent future adverse events.
In a recent interview for CNBC, Alderoty explained that Ripple no longer relies on the US to extract most of its revenue. As such, it has turned its sight toward Europe and, more specifically, Ireland.
“Essentially, its customers and its revenue are all driven outside of the US, even though we still have a lot of employees inside of the US,” he outlined.
Ripple has already dipped its toes in the Irish market and will try to obtain a VASP from the country’s central bank to “passport” its operations throughout the EU. The entity also intends to apply for an electronic money license in the island nation in the near future.
The Bank of Ireland has shown a positive attitude toward crypto organizations in the past. In July, it approved the platform Gemini to offer digital asset services to local consumers.
“Dublin is Gemini’s European headquarters, and we are seeing huge interest in crypto here. This registration helps customers have confidence in Gemini as a secure and transparent provider,” the firm’s Head of Ireland and Europe – Gillian Lynch – said back then.
Ripple’s stretch to Europe comes in the midst of a prolonged crypto winter where numerous companies prefer to cut costs and do not expand their operations. Leading exchanges like CryptoCom, Coinbase, Bybit, Huobi, and more have dismissed some of their employees. The bear market intensified last week when FTX failed to honor customers’ withdrawal requests and later filed for bankruptcy.
Alderoty opined that FTX’s fiasco might offer some benefits to the crypto industry as it could speed up regulations. Ripple’s CEO Brad Garlinghouse agreed, adding that such events are an inevitable part of the sector.
“Crypto has never just been sunshine and roses, and as an industry, it needs to mature,” he stated.
Garlinghouse asserted that Ripple functions as a “transparent” entity, hinting it is highly unlikely to experience similar issues like FTX.