The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) has officially registered Ripple’s Irish subsidiary, Ripple Markets Ireland Limited, as a regulated Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in the country. This significant registration will allow Ripple to begin providing authorized digital asset services to clients within Ireland under the watch of the CBI.
The company stated that after obtaining this VASP registration, its next goal is to expand its regulated services across the entire European Economic Area by leveraging the upcoming Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) rules going into effect at the end of 2024. MiCA will establish a comprehensive regulatory framework for governing virtual asset providers like Ripple across EU member countries.
Ripple’s registration and expansion efforts in Ireland are strategic moves to grow the company’s global presence outside the United States after facing an ongoing lawsuit filed by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in December 2020 alleging securities laws violations. To avoid ongoing legal troubles in the US, Ripple seems focused on setting up compliant operations targeting worldwide jurisdictions with greater regulatory clarity on cryptocurrencies.
The company has already been operating an office in Dublin since 2022 in anticipation of securing official Irish licensure from the CBI. Additionally, beyond Ireland, Ripple is presently working to register with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority as an authorized crypto asset firm.
According to a senior Ripple executive, Ireland, and the broader EU are leading the way in boosting institutional confidence and participation in digital assets by taking proactive steps to regulate cryptocurrency providers. Earlier this year, Ripple also obtained a Major Payments Institution License from Singapore and approval to utilize XRP tokens for payments in Dubai.
