January 22, 2021 | AtoZ Markets – Xapo custodian service is in the final stages of obtaining a banking license in Gibraltar. Decrypt reports.
Gibraltar Finance Minister Albert Isola stressed that the custodian has already received a DLT license. It allows Xapo to work with electronic money in the region.
“Xapo has established itself as a full-fledged bank in Gibraltar,” the official added.
Xapo Expanding Beyond Bitcoin to Become a Digital Bank
In May 2020, the custodian service said it began "expanding beyond Bitcoin to become a digital bank." In December, the head of Xapo announced that the company would cease serving US customers from March 1.
Custodian plans to change its global business strategy and focus on emerging markets and clients with capital from $30,000 to $1 million who do not have access to international private banking services.
Founded in 2013, startup Xapo was one of the first to offer simple and convenient Bitcoin wallets. It is widely believed that its founder, Vence Casares, popularized the first cryptocurrency among the top executives of Silicon Valley.
In 2019, the custodian arm of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase acquired Xapo. The deal was valued at $55 million.
Recall that in June 2020, a trader accused the cryptocurrency services Xapo and Indodax of facilitating the theft of 500 bitcoins.
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