A crypto exchange called BLOX has officially been given the green light to operate in the Netherlands. By doing so, the crypto platform will be the first one to be registered in the country after they have implemented the new 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive AMLD5, which was introduced by the European Union. Via a blog post, BLOX referred to itself as the first consumer-focused platform that has been registered successfully with the Dutch Central Bank (DNB). BLOX also highlighted the mandatory aspect of this registration for operating within the country, if the company wishes to allow its users to purchase, sell, trade or even hold cryptocurrencies.
A crypto service provider called AMDAX BV, which is based in the Netherlands, had made headlines in October of the year. It had been the first company of its kind to have been incorporated in this newly regulated area. However, the difference is that AMDAX BV doesn’t cater to retail customers; its target market is large-scale investors. AMDAX made a statement in October on Finextra, where it highlighted that they support both businesses, along with private investors who have a portfolio. The minimum investment that people are required to make at AMDAX is around 2.5 bitcoin, which is valued at somewhere around $38,644.
AMDAX offers insured custodianship, alongside crypto trading and secure storage. As far as BLOX BV is concerned, it has gained visibility by making its way on the list of crypto service providers that have received approval. It touted its registration from the central bank in Netherlands i.e. De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). Before BLOX’s registration, Anycoin Direct had also registered with the entity and had received the green light. BLOX mentioned in its blog post that it would provide consumers the ability of investing in their favorite digital currencies and can do it with as little as one euro.
As the DNB has given its approval, BLOX said that crypto would become a mainstay for the public as a whole. While there are a lot of companies that are registering themselves with the new policies in Netherlands, there are also those that aren’t keen on doing business in the country. Sadly, it is a fact that more regulations in any jurisdiction tend to scare off a lot of firms, although it can be argued whether it is a bad thing or not. One of the notable crypto derivative exchanges that exist, Deribit had moved out of the Netherlands wholesale in January of 2020.
This was due to the fact that the country had tightened the regulations within its own borders, which had pushed away some of the risky crypto companies. Only time will tell how the country manages to deal with its strict and new regulations. Nonetheless, it cannot be denied that crypto companies regulated by the DNB will enjoy a higher level of trust, as opposed to other crypto firms. No matter what happens, it is quite evident that cryptocurrencies are becoming part of mainstream finance and Netherlands is also accepting them rapidly.