Coinmotion gets regulatory approval in Spain

Coinmotion has obtained confirmation from the Bank of Spain as a valid provider of virtual currency exchange services for fiat currency and custody of electronic wallets.

The registration of companies in the cryptocurrency operator registry of the Bank of Spain is conditional on the crypto service providers having adequate procedures for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing. In addition, they must meet the requirements of commercial and professional repute.

Officially regulated as a cryptocurrency provider by Finland’s FIN-FSA since 2019, Coinmotion has been operating in Spain for several years, serving high net worth investors, companies, and institutions. The crypto platform allows users to buy, store and use Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ether, Stellar Lumens, XRP (Ripple), USD Coin, Uniswap, Aave, and Chainlink. Crypto transfers between users are free.

Founded in 2012, Coinmotion goes by a business model supported in parallel by the creation of a network of professionals, companies, or freelancers, with experience in the financial sector and training in crypto assets, who want to offer investment in crypto assets for their clients via a European-regulated broker.

Finland has rececntly selected Coinmotion as a broker to liquidate USD 75 million in Bitcoin from its treasury.

Despite already having an EU passport through the Finnish license, Coinmotion registered with the Bank of Spain after the country announced in 2021 a mandatory registration for cryptocurrency providers that wanted to offer their services in Spain.

Spain – an attractive market

Several companies have recently expanded their operations in the Iberian country. UK firm Atlantic Money expanded its remittance solution into three new European markets: France, Italy, and Spain. The company has also localized its app and website, making it available in French, Spanish, Italian, and German, and increased its sending limit from EUR 100.000 to EUR 1 million, intensifying pressure on higher cost competitors like Wise, PayPal, or Revolut.

Atlantic Money removes variable fees and drastically undercuts established providers, such as PayPal, Revolut, and Wise. Despite the cost of sending money internationally being largely fixed per transaction, these providers have a variable pricing model meaning the more you send, the more you pay. As a result of its fixed fee model, Atlantic Money users are saving on average EUR 50 per transfer.

Another UK company, Plum, expanded its portfolio of investment options with crypto investing in France, Spain, Ireland, and Belgium around the same time. In partnership with Bitpanda, Plum allows those residents to buy and sell cryptocurrencies in their app. The app supports cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, and Binance. Plum has added stock investing to its European smart money app in September 2022, and it also integrated with Bitpanda at the end of the month.