Crypto.com secures EU license to launch crypto financial derivatives

Mobile-first crypto exchange and payment platform Crypto.com secured a license allowing it to offer cryptocurrency financial derivatives in the European Economic Area.According to a May 21 announcement, Crypto.com secured a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) license.We have already expanded our brand presence in Europe since receiving our MiCA licence and we now look forward to providing customers across the region even more ways to engage with our platform through these new offerings, said Crypto.coms co-founder and CEO, Kris Marszalek.Source: Crypto.comThe announcement followed Crypto.com receiving in-principle approval to operate across the European Union under a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license in mid-January. The company received regulatory approval for its acquisition of Cyprus-based trading services firm A.N. Allnew Investments from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).Crypto.com did not immediately respond to Cointelegraphs request for comment.Related: Coinbases Deribit buy shows growing derivatives marketA popular strategyThe company is not the first crypto entity to obtain a MiFID license by acquiring a Cyprus-based financial firm. On May 20, cryptocurrency exchange Kraken announced the launch of regulated derivatives trading on its platform under the European Unions Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).Like Crypto.com, a Cyprus-based entity played a role in the strategy, with Kraken relying on MiFID II-regulated entity Payward Europe Digital Solutions to offer its derivatives. The launch followed Krakencompleting its acquisition of the futures trading platformNinjaTrader earlier in May as its first-quarter revenue jumped 19% year-on-year to $471.7 million.Related: CFTC mulling probe of Crypto.com over Super Bowl contracts: ReportCrypto derivatives are all the rageRecently, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said his firmwill continue to look for merger and acquisition opportunities, after acquiring crypto derivatives platform Deribit. The comments came after the publicly listed US crypto exchange earlier this monthagreed to acquire Deribit, one of the worlds biggest crypto derivatives trading platforms.Major crypto exchange Gemini has also recently received regulatory approval toexpand crypto derivatives trading across Europe.Lastly, decentralized finance platform Synthetixwill also venture further into crypto derivativeswith plans to re-acquire the crypto options platform Derive.Crypto.com has made its fair share of acquisitions. Those includeFintek Securities,Charterprime,Orion Principalsand SEC-registered broker-dealer Watchdog Capital.Magazine:How crypto laws are changing across the world in 2025