Blockchain payments firm Ripple has secured a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from the Central Bank of Ireland (CBI).
The development comes more than a year after Ripple opened an office in Dublin and applied for the license to expand into Europe.
CBI opened registration for the VASP license to companies in 2021. The approval process centers around companies implementing proper anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism provisions.
Ripple Secures Regulatory Approval in Ireland
According to Ripple, the newly obtained license through its Irish arm will allow it to provide a range of digital asset services to investors within Ireland.
Ripple added that following the regulatory approval in Ireland, the company will “seek to provide services to clients across the European Economic Area once the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA)” comes into effect next year.
While national licenses only permit companies to operate in a country they are issued in, MiCA allows companies to use one license in one country to operate across all 27 EU member states. MiCA regulation was proposed by the European Union to regulate the cryptocurrency market in the region.
Eric van Miltenburg, Ripple’s Chief Business Officer, stated that the company has selected Ireland as its primary base for the EU regulation. Giving reasons for the decision, he noted that the country has positioned itself as a supportive jurisdiction for the crypto sector.
Business Expansion
Meanwhile, Ripple’s latest regulatory approval in Ireland and European expansion is part of its broader strategy of growing its international business.
In October, Ripple obtained a Major Payments Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) following a provisional approval in June.
Last month, Ripple’s associated token XRP was approved for use within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). The approval allows licensed crypto firms within the DIFC to incorporate the token into their services.
