Revolut has obtained a crypto license in Gibraltar. Why does this neobank need this jurisdiction?

The British company Revolut has obtained a crypto license in Gibraltar, which it plans to use to expand its business beyond the United Kingdom and the European Economic Area (EEA). The license was granted to Revolut’s new subsidiary, Revolut Global Digital Assets Limited, Revolut announced. The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC) has granted it the status of a distributed ledger technology (DLT) service provider.

Nikolai Storonsky’s neobank plans to use the new structure to develop crypto services in international markets, according to the company’s press release. In the UK, such services are already provided by Revolut Ltd, and in the EEA by Revolut Digital Assets Europe Ltd, which operates under the European MiCA regulation for crypto-asset markets. A spokesperson for the neobank explained to Cointelegraph that the Gibraltar license will allow the company to offer these services in other countries.

Revolut cites Gibraltar’s local regulatory framework as the reason for its choice: the jurisdiction was one of the first to establish a specific regulatory framework for companies working with DLT. This system sets clear and strict requirements for businesses in the digital assets sector, according to the neobank.

Gibraltar’s cutting-edge approach to the regulation of digital assets makes it the “ideal jurisdiction” for supporting the company’s international operations as it continues to develop crypto services for customers around the world, said Emil Urmanchin, Head of Cryptocurrencies and New Initiatives at Revolut.

Revolut is Europe’s most valuable fintech startup. According to the company’s own data, it has more than 80 million retail customers worldwide, including over 16 million users of its crypto services. The neobank cites obtaining a Gibraltar license as one of the key steps in its global strategy for developing this area.

As Cointelegraph notes, Revolut had previously secured preliminary approvals in two other jurisdictions. In July, the company received approval in principle to provide crypto services in Dubai, and in September, it received preliminary conditional approval from U.S. regulators to establish a national bank offering digital asset custody and cryptocurrency-related payment services.

The countries and launch dates for services through the Gibraltar-based entity have not yet been disclosed; Revolut promises to provide details at a later date.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor