Ripple, the blockchain company behind the XRP Ledger, is moving towards regulatory approval in the European Union (EU) via a license in Luxembourg.
The San Francisco, California-based firm received a preliminary green light for a Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) license from the country’s Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) under the EU’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, Ripple said on Tuesday.
A license would allow Ripple to offer its stablecoin payment systems to European businesses and allow it to expand into broader crypto capabilities, according to the announcement.
MiCA allows companies that receive approval in one EU state to offer cryptocurrency services across the bloc.
The regime was one of the first comprehensive regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrency in a major market when it was adopted in 2023, but there have been signs this year that the honeymoon period is coming to an end. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, opened a consultation last month to assess whether MiCA is still fit for purpose.
Among the concerns about MiCA’s shortcomings is criticism of the stablecoin rules, which relate to a blanket ban on offering interest and reserve requirements that require issuers to hold as much as 60% of collateral assets in cash deposits in commercial banks.
