- Striga obtains regulatory approval to operate in Estonia as a VASP.
- The company is the first VASP to be approved under the country’s reworked legislation for VASPs.
- The law requires KYC information, capital requirements and affiliation in Estonia.
Striga, a bitcoin and cryptocurrency banking infrastructure provider, became the first virtual asset service provider (VASP) to gain regulatory approval in Estonia following the renewal of its digital asset legal framework, according to an announcement from the Financial Intelligence Unit.
The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act, which came into force earlier this March, strengthened regulations against VASPs while assuring customers and traders in the region that they would not be affected
“This means that the legislation does not contain any measures to prohibit customers from owning and trading virtual assets and does not in any way require customers to share their private keys in wallets,” the Ministry of Finance said.
Essentially, the law requires VASPs to provide identities to their customers, but not private keys. If a VASP cannot provide identification, the provider is expected to “implement real-time risk analysis.”
In addition, the legislation changes those who are able to obtain approval to operate in Estonia as a VASP.
“Under the new rules, the Financial Intelligence Unit can refuse a license when the entity has no business operations in Estonia and no apparent connection to Estonia,” the Ministry of Finance continued.
Also, one of the more stringent requirements of the VASPs was the addition of capital requirements, which made it more difficult for smaller companies to get approved.
“VASPs must have a minimum share capital of 125,000 or 350,000 euros, depending on the type of service offered, increased from the current floor of 12,000 euros,” according to the Ministry of Finance.
