- Israeli regulators grant first VASP license to Bits of Gold after 5 years of waiting.
- The company will launch two new products in the near future.
- One of the products will be custodial while the other will integrate its services with legacy funding in the region.
The Israel Savings and Insurance Capital Market Authority (ISCMA) has granted cryptocurrency exchange Bits of Gold the country’s first Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license, according to a press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine.
In 2016, a new law was passed requiring the ISMCA to issue licenses for these service providers. After waiting almost five years, Bits of Gold is now the only active company holding this license.
Following the introduction of the law, the Bank of Israel (BOI) began publishing new procedures for operating within the bitcoin and cryptocurrency ecosystem. Bits of Gold will now be able to make transactions within the legacy financial infrastructure much easier thanks to one such procedure that requires banks to interact with “crypto-originated transactions” from licensed entities, the statement said.
Additionally, upon approval, the exchange plans to launch its custodial service, Bits of Gold Wallet, which will be secured. In addition, the company will launch Bits of Gold Connect, a system of integrations that will allow fintechs, banks and other institutions to offer their customers access to bitcoins or cryptocurrencies through Bits of Gold.
“Bits of Gold Connect is an exciting development that we have been working on for 2 years! It allows banks, fintech companies and financial institutions in Europe and Israel to connect to our well-established infrastructure and offer their customers various crypto solutions, in short, a way to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies in an easy, safe and regulated way,” said Youval Rouach, CEO of Bits of Gold.
