BTC Market, The first Australian Crypto firm to get a financial service license
Although the license is not currently required for crypto companies in Australia, BTC Markets says it is preparing the exchange for the upcoming regulation, which could help it obtain other complimentary certificates.
Australia-based cryptocurrency exchange BTC Markets has become the first crypto company in the country to receive a financial services license.
The license was issued to BTCM Payments, a sister company of BTC Markets, by the country’s financial regulator, the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC).
An Australian Financial Services (AFS) license allows the holder to advise, contract, and create a market for a financial product. It also allows for the provision of custody or depository services, among other benefits.
Although AFS is not required by crypto and digital asset companies to provide services due to a lack of regulation in the country, BTC Markets says the move allows customers to bridge the gap between traditional money and crypto more closely when offering new products.
This marks the end of nearly two years of waiting for the firm to apply for an AFS license, which was registered in August 2020.
BTC Markets is certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for information security management and is certified by the country’s crypto industry body Blockchain Australia.
BTC Markets CEO Catherine Bowler said the license would prepare her for the exchange business, which she believes complements its progress in the forthcoming regulation and the acquisition of a System and Organization Controls (SOC) 2 certificate.
According to CoinGecko, BTC Markets has established itself as a key player in the Australian crypto industry with a daily volume of 7 4.7 million.
In February, the exchange stock market trading platform signed an agreement with SelfWealth to give SelfWealth users the opportunity to trade Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Chainlink (LINK) and Uniswap (UNI) from June 30.
Other exchange suites followed. Earlier this month, the Australian crypto exchange Swyftx completed a 1.5 billion consolidation deal with the online stock market investment platform Superhero.
