On August 15, it was announced that Lendingblock had received a distributed ledger technology (DLT) license from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (GFSC). This will enable the collateralized crypto-to-crypto lending platform to support short-term lending, hedging, and working capital needs of those who wish to lend or borrow.
Many financial institutions have been looking to reinvent themselves with a model that fits better into the digital assets lending market. Lendingblock is one of those companies, and this is why they recently designed and implemented the first Global Digital Assets Lending Agreement. By doing so, they hope that they will become the new standard across the crypto industry.
Of course, the first step to success was to receive the DLT license. Explained Lendingblock CEO Steve Swain, “We always put the needs of its institutional clients front and centre, so it was important for us to take the proactive step in becoming a regulated entity. Building a safe, secure and transparent digital asset lending exchange and healthy marketplace for clients has been our goal, and this included undergoing a detailed and extensive process to ensure regulatory outcomes were achieved with our regulator the GFSC. We are looking forward to bringing this platform to market to support our clients borrowing and lending needs and are grateful for the assistance that ISOLAS has provided us in reaching this point.”
Receiving that license from the GFSC is a big deal, and has been something that has been highly sought by many crypto-based firms. On July 22, Bitso became the first company in Latin America to be able to provide withdrawals, deposits, and trades of cryptocurrency under the regulatory authority of the GSFC. Days later, Quedex announced that they had received approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission to offer derivatives and digital assets.
The approval of these licenses comes amid an effort by Gibraltar to encourage crypto and blockchain-based businesses to the region. Explained Albert Isola, Minister of Commerce, “It is 18-months since the DLT regulatory framework came into effect and we have seen a growing number of excellent companies and start-ups come to Gibraltar and work within this regulated framework; this will ultimately add to the legitimacy of the crypto markets as they continue to develop into the mainstream.”
For Lendingblock, receiving the license is by no means the final step for the platform. They have been working with other regulators across the globe to ensure that they are in compliance and receiving any necessary regulatory approval in the areas in which they intend or have already set up shop.
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