Cryptocurrency trading platform Bitget has officially registered as a service provider in Lithuania, allowing the Seychelles-based firm to operate in the European country.
An announcement from the exchange notes that it has met compliance standards with regional laws and regulations in the Baltic state. The country is identified as an emerging digital asset market in Europe and a haven for cryptocurrency and blockchain projects.
A recent report from Bloomberg notes that the country saw a fivefold increase in cryptocurrency company registrations through 2022 as companies looked to secure registrations in the Baltic nation after Estonia revoked hundreds of operating licenses as part of a crackdown in the country in late 2021.
Bitget noted that Lithuania remains a favorable hotspot for cryptocurrency users as well as companies looking to register legal entities to offer cryptocurrency-related services.
As a result, the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange has looked to bolster its compliance efforts according managing director Gracy Chen:
“The global regulation of digital assets is advancing on a daily basis, and we actively observe the regulatory changes around the globe. We have a whole dedicated compliance team in place to focus on various regulatory compliance matters.”
Bitget has been operating since 2018 and serves some 8 million users from over 100 countries.
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Lithuania also looked to tighten rules for cryptocurrency-related businesses registering in the Baltic state last June. Legal amendments to Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing rules were proposed to enforce tighter requirements for user identification and exchange operators.
Exchanges and crypto-service providers must register as a corporate body with a minimal threshold for startup capital investments of 125,000 euros ($137,000).
As reported by Bloomberg, Lithuania is also home to Bifinitey UAB, which is the payments provider for Binance Holdings Ltd. Data from Lithuania’s tax authority shows that the firm was the second biggest contributor of corporate tax in 2022.
Bitget’s Lithuanian registration comes in the same week as the European parliament is expected to pass the highly anticipated Markets in Crypto-Assets legislation.
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