Topic: Bitstamp Moves to Luxembourg, Becomes First Nationally-Licensed Exchange (Read 1148 times)

The USA are going to lose more ground with Bitcoin, because of over-regulation. BitLicense was overkill in every sense of the word and that will kill innovation and possible job opportunities in many states in the USA. While the businesses relocate to EU, a brain drain will occur in the USA.

In the end of the day, I think this is a very good move for Bitstamp and good for Bitcoin.

great news.

I have already asked it in another thread, but is there some sort of insurance on bitstamp funds and/or customer funds?

We are very excited to share with you today that Bitstamp has been granted a license by the Luxembourg government to be a fully regulated and licensed exchange in the EU. This is an unprecedented moment for the bitcoin, and brings with it a new era of security and transparency to the industry. The news is the result of a rigorous application process with the Luxembourg financial regulator, the Luxembourg Financial Industry Supervisory Commission (known as CSSF) spanning nearly two years, which included security reviews in addition to an audit by Ernst & Young Luxembourg. Bitstamp's license is passportable into the 28 EU member states providing all European customers with a robust, secure platform for bitcoin trading.
Establishing our EU base in Luxembourg, a country that is known for its long-standing history as an international leader in e-payments and data privacy as well as the European headquarters for many global players including Amaz on, PayPal and Skype, Luxembourg embodies an exceptionally strong infrastructure and the financial and security awareness we were seeking for this process.

What does this mean for me?

New and current Bitstamp clients can rest assured knowing that Bitstamp and its services are approved across Europe. This stamp of approval ensures that Bitstamp offers the highest levels of security and consumer protection previously only recognized in traditional financial institutions.

What else is new?

Bitstamp has simultaneously launched BTC/EUR trading to better serve European markets. We are also offering free trading in BTC/EUR for our loyal clients for the next month (Until end of May).

Effective Tuesday, 26th of April all EUR deposits received will be credited directly to EUR account balance. Trading will start same day at 1:00 PM CEST. To protect our clients ask/bid orders overlapping on launch day will be removed prior to launching the order book.

Note that all non-EUR deposits will continue to be converted to USD.

this sounds great. but does this help to prevent an other mt.gox or cryptsy? are my BTC saver now after this announcement?

i received their newsletter and could not find something about new security "features" for customers. the only write:

providing all European customers with a robust, secure platform for bitcoin trading.

Nejc told us that he and his company believes coming into regulatory compliance is one of the best ways to help Bitcoin go mainstream. He believes that by securing a direct line with regulators, rather than the indirect regulation imposed through banking partnerships, banks and other financial institutions will feel more comfortable dealing with Bitcoin.

It means that bigger investors might dip a toe in.

At the moment they won't do it because of the risks (losing coins/hacking etc).