BTC Markets receives financial services license
Australian-based cryptocurrency exchange BTC Markets has become the first cryptocurrency company in the country to be granted a financial services license.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), Australia's financial sector regulator, is the licensing authority for BTCM Payments subsidiary of BTC Markets.
We have an exciting announcement to make:
BTC Markets is the first Australian crypto exchange to successfully go through the full AFSL application process via our sister company, BTCM Payments!
✅AFSL attained
✅ISO Certified
✅SOC 2 on the way!#crypto #bitcoin #finance— BTC Markets (@BTCMarkets) June 21, 2022
The Australian Financial Services Licence (AFS) allows the owner to give advice, trade and create a market for a financial product. In addition, the licensed agency will be able to provide custody services, along with other attractive benefits.
While cryptocurrency and digital asset companies do not require AFS to provide services due to a lack of domestic regulation, BTC Markets said the move allows it to bridge the gap between traditional finance and cryptocurrencies while offering new products to its customers.
Earlier, in August 2020, BTC Markets submitted an application to receive a financial services license. After nearly two years of waiting, the company was finally granted afs.
BTC Markets partners with SelfWealth
BTC Markets has a certificate from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for information security management. The certificate is issued by Blockchain Australia, the country's cryptocurrency industry body.
BTC Markets CEO Catherine Bowler shared that the license will be a stepping stone for the exchange business and complement the process of achieving System and Institutional Control (SOC)2 certification.
BTC Markets has become a major player in the Australian cryptocurrency industry with a daily volume of $4.7 million, according to CoinGecko.
In February, the exchange signed an agreement with stock market trading platform SelfWealth to give SelfWealth users access to Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Chainlink (LINK) and Uniswap (UNI) trading from June 30.
Meanwhile, in early July, Australian cryptocurrency exchange Swyftx also completed a $1.5 billion merger deal with online stock market investment platform Superhero.
