In the details, GBX was granted a licence for the Distributed Ledger Technology Category 3, which is classified as the "highest category that can be awarded" in the DLT regulatory framework, of which the GFSC is in charge.
Nick Cowan, the CEO of GBX, confirmed in a statement that the exchange makes every endeavour to assure its operations fall within a legal framework, among other regulated leading platforms in the industry.
“Securing authorization as a DLT provider here in Gibraltar is affirmation of our tireless efforts to position the GBX among the premiere Digital Asset Exchanges globally. Today’s announcement renews our ambition to create a world leading, institutional-grade token sale platform and Digital Asset Exchange”, said Cowan.
Gibraltar's financial regulator supported the exchange since its first steps on the “long and difficult” way, according to Cowan, who pointed out to that the goal the exchange pursued from the beginning was to establish a regulated exchange with "effective risk-based controls", for which the licence seems to have come as a recognition of the "evidence of the hard work", which resulted in putting the exchange in the front rows, as per Cowan’s description.
Serious efforts have been made on the way of obtaining the licence
The exchange had been working on getting the licence for around 180 days, as Cowan explained, where a sequence of communications took place between the regulator and the exchange, which included carrying out an initial risk assessment of GBX’s application.
The aforementioned exchange was requested later to provide a business map and a presentation to the GFSC, to explain the policy GBX intends to adopt for committing to the commission’s regulatory framework of the Distributed Ledger Technology.
It is worth mentioning that the Gibraltar Stock Exchange Group (GSX Group) had launched its Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange in 2017 during an initial coin offering.
Among its ICO campaigns, the exchange is known of trading in cryptos since July 2018.
The exchange’s top cryptos it trades in are bitcoin, ether, bitcoin cash, ethereum classic, in addition to the exchange’s registered token Rock Token (RKT), which the exchange uses for trading, listing, and sponsoring fees on the platform as well, in line with how the Binance Coin works.
In addition to the above mentioned, the platform also provides fiat-to-token trading services, in particular with USD pairs, amid reports about plans for boarding other fiat currencies and trading pairs on the exchange.
Cowan considers the new authorisation the exchange has got as a step on the right way, and sees it as promising for incentivizing other blockchain firms to expand and succeed.
“Gibraltar has found the right blend of sensible and supportive regulation, which has helped position the jurisdiction as a lodestar for the global cryptocurrency space, while allowing blockchain companies to flourish. Crucially, here in Gibraltar there has been a realization that the pursuit of innovation should never come at the expense of sustainability and long-term development. I look forward to seeing this trend continue in the months and years ahead,” Cowan said in his statement.