CEX Crypto Exchange Acquires MTS License From FinCEN, Looking to Expand it Services In The US

CEX.IO exchange is all set to expand its offering to its US customers after getting approval for its Money Transmitting License(MTL) in additional 9 states which include Iowa, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West Virginia, Maryland, Alaska, and New Hampshire. Back in 2015, CEX.IO has secured a license as Money Service business (MSB) with the Financial Crime Enforcement Network (FinCen), that allowed the US customers to make fiat deposits and withdrawals using the services of CEX.IO.

However, the services of the firm were limited to only those states which did not require a Money Transmitting License for operations. Thus, the earlier services were excluded from 28 states with the MTL requirements. Now that the firm has finally acquired the necessary MTL, it will be available to expand its services to all 50 states.

With the new Money Transmitting license under its kitty, now CEX.IO would be required to adhere by the federal AML and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) regulations.

Crypto Exchanges Flood the US markets

Recently, there has been a surge of top crypto exchanges opening dedicated platforms in the United States for its citizens. The move by CEX.IO came on the hees of mainstream crypto exchanges like Huobi and Bittrex launching pure crypto trading exchanges for the customers of the United States. Similarly, the world’s largest crypto exchange by daily trading volume Binance also entered into a partnership with a FinCEN registered company called BAM Trading services for a dedicated crypto trading platform for its users.

CEX.IO was founded back in 2013 and classifies itself as a self-regulated venture with a Money Services Business license under its belt. Although CEX.IO started out as a cloud mining service provider, but later ventured into the exchange service.

Oleksandr Lutskevych, CEO and Founder of CEX.IO commented on the latest development and acquirement of FinCEN license which would help the firm become more relevant to the larger section of the Us customers. He said,

“The USA has always been a strategically significant market for our company and the industry in general. This country has always been on the front line of developing blockchain industry infrastructure, and the maturity of the crypto regulation serves as one of the best indicators of that. We believe that the launch of our dedicated CEX.IO US presence will allow a more thorough investigation of the local customers’ needs, facilitate the obtaining of MTL licenses in new states, and make our platform more geared for US crypto users.”

Conclusion

The United States is slowly moving towards becoming a crypto complaint nation as against the early days when the authorities were quite passive towards the crypto space and various businesses associated with it. The SEC has made it mandatory to acquire a business license from the regulators for opening any new business which provide crypto as a service. As a result many established exchanges and businesses had to relocate. But, in recent times the SEC has more of a moderate approach which is slowly making the country a hub for cryptocurrency related businesses.