US-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has boosted its European expansion by securing an e-money institution (EMI) licence from the Central Bank of Ireland, while also successfully registering as a virtual asset service provider (VASP) in Spain.

The Irish EMI approval will enable the San Francisco-headquartered exchange to expand its EUR fiat services through its regional subsidiary Payward Europe Solutions to clients in all 27 member states of the EU, which it describes as “a key growth region”.

Likewise, its VASP registration in Spain, which has been granted by the country’s central bank, gives the exchange the green light to offer its cryptocurrency and custodial wallet services to Spanish consumers. Kraken has already secured VASP registration in Ireland through its subsidiary in April of this year, and also in Italy under the Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM).

Curtis Ting, Kraken’s vice president of global operations, describes the approval as an “important milestone” in its ongoing expansion strategy, and attributes Europe’s “forward-looking regulation” to “a firm foundation for crypto”.

Elsewhere in Europe, the exchange currently operates in the UK as a cryptoasset firm registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), where it offers spot trading and cryptoasset custody services via Payward and futures trading through its pure crypto derivatives platform Crypto Facilities, which it acquired as part of a nine-figure deal in February 2019.

Late last year, the exchange announced it was laying off around 30% of its staff – 1,100 employees – due to the tough macroeconomic climate, with co-founder and CEO Jesse Powell saying the decision will “allow us to sustain the business for the long term”.