Bitstamp Reportedly Raising Funds for Global Expansion
- Bitstamp, the world’s longest-running crypto exchange, has been raising funds since late June, with its advisor being Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital.
- The new funds will reportedly be used to launch a new derivatives platform in Europe, expand to new markets in Asia, scale its operations in the U.K..
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Bitstamp, one of the oldest crypto exchanges in the world, is currently in the process of raising fresh funds to expand its operations to new markets, Bloomberg reported on 8 August.
The publication cited a Bitstamp spokesperson, who said the company started the fundraising process in late June, with its advisor being Michael Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital, which also acted as an advisor when Ripple acquired a minority stake in the exchange in Q1 of 2023. Once the funding round is complete, Bitstamp plans to scale and expand its operations in several markets around the world. Bitstamp CEO Jean-Baptiste Graftieaux said in a statement:
“Bitstamp is not for sale, and we are not actively looking to sell the company. Our current and exclusive priority is to raise money through strategic investors to accelerate Bitstamp’s growth by providing new products and services to retail and institutional crypto customers.”
According to the exchange’s spokesperson, Bitstamp will use the new funds to launch a new derivatives trading platform in Europe sometime in 2024, as well as scale its operations and services in the United Kingdom. The company also plans to expand the number of markets it serves in Asia, though no countries were mentioned.
The news came out only hours before Bitstamp — which was founded in 2011, and is the world’s oldest operational crypto exchange — announced some trading restrictions for its U.S. customers. Starting 29 August, the exchange’s U.S. platform will halt trading of several tokens — including AXS, CHZ, MANA, MATIC, NEAR, SAND, and SOL — citing “recent market developments”. Bitstamp noted that holding and withdrawing of these tokens will remain unaffected.
- Crypto exchange Bitget will make it mandatory for new users to undergo its level-1 KYC process starting 1 September, old users will have until 1 October to do the same.
- The level-1 KYC process requires users to submit a government identification and undergo facial authentication, and is in line with global regulatory guidelines.
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- The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority continues its crackdown on crypto ATMs in the country, and has disrupted a total of 26 machines since the start of the year.
- The regulator warned the public back in March 2022 that all crypto ATMs in the country were operating illegally, and issued a “shut down or face further action” order.
- Binance’s current banking partner for euro deposits and withdrawals via the SEPA network, Paysafe, said it will stop its support for the exchange on 25 September.
- Binance said it will be changing its EUR banking partner, and assured users that no other services on its platform will be affected.