Today, we double down on our European expansion strategy by announcing a new strategic partnership that enables us to actively enhance our product offering in Germany, a key market for European crypto adoption. Starting around July 10, 2024, we expect to offer German clients access to a range of innovative crypto products via a dedicated offering powered by DLT Finance.
DLT Finance is a brand of leading BaFin-licensed crypto service providers DLT Securities GmbH and DLT Custody GmbH, which offer digital asset prime brokerage and crypto custody services. Once the partnership is live, DLT Finance will provide localized expertise and infrastructure to serve millions of Germans with secure and compliant crypto services.
“Collaborating with industry-leading partners is a vital component of our mission to accelerate the global adoption of crypto. Over 5% of Germans already own cryptoassets, and we’re confident our innovative product suite – along with excellent local language client service support – will be attractive to prospective clients as crypto continues to become more mainstream across Europe,” said Kraken CEO David Ripley.
“With this partnership, German clients get access to crypto with certainty that they are trading with a best-in-class offering as Germany transitions toward a new pan-European regulatory framework.”
Marius Sewing, Co-Founder & CEO at DLT Finance, added: “An integral part of our service is to make fully regulated financial market infrastructure for brokerage and custody of digital assets available to industry-leading partners. Building on our commitment toward the highest security standards, regulatory compliance and technological excellence, this partnership perfectly epitomizes DLT Finance’s mission of driving regulated and compliant digital asset adoption in the European Union.”
“We are thrilled to embark on this joint endeavor with Kraken and look forward to advancing the landscape of digital asset adoption, together.”
Our European growth plan acceleration is also reflected in our recent acquisition intent announcement of Dutch crypto broker Coin Meester B.V. (BCM). We remain committed to scaling our business locally in compliance with regulations across other European countries to meet client demand for our best-in-class product suite.
Today’s announcement follows several previous European milestones for our business. These include receiving an E-Money Institution (EMI) authorization from the Central Bank of Ireland last year, operationalizing Virtual Asset Service Provider registrations (VASPs) in Ireland, Italy, Spain and Belgium in 2023, as well as successful registration as a Crypto Service Provider (CSP) in the Netherlands this year.
These materials are for general information purposes only and are not investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell, stake or hold any cryptoasset or to engage in any specific trading strategy. Kraken does not and will not work to increase or decrease the price of any particular cryptoasset it makes available. Some crypto products and markets are unregulated, and you may not be protected by government compensation and/or regulatory protection schemes. The unpredictable nature of the cryptoasset markets can lead to loss of funds. Tax may be payable on any return and/or on any increase in the value of your cryptoassets and you should seek independent advice on your taxation position. Geographic restrictions may apply.
