Ripple, the blockchain company behind the XRP Ledger, is in the process of obtaining regulatory approval from the European Union (EU) via a license in Luxembourg.
The San Francisco, California-based company has received a preliminary green light for a crypto asset service provider (CASP) license from the country’s Financial Sector Supervisory Commission (CSSF) under the European Crypto Asset Markets (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 functions, according to the announcement.
MiCA allows companies that receive approval from an EU state to offer cryptocurrency services across the bloc.
The regime was one of the first comprehensive regulatory frameworks for cryptocurrencies in a major market when it was passed 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 branch, opened a consultation last month to assess whether MiCA is still fit for purpose.
Concerns about MiCA’s shortcomings include criticism of stablecoin rules, linked to a blanket ban on offering interest and reserve requirements that require issuers to hold up to 60% of collateral assets in cash deposits with commercial banks.
