Comprehensive EU work on industry regulation will bring numerous benefits to crypto companies and their clients, argued Christian Niedermüller, CEO of the fully regulated crypto platform. block tradingin an interview with cryptonews.
However, it will also create certain difficulties that will surely affect crypto companies, specifically, in terms of compliance and reporting costs.
That said, advances in industry regulation made by the EU are attracting more companies to the area, especially from regions with notoriously unclear regulatory approaches, such as the US.
Finally, Niedermüller explained how gamification helps cryptocurrency companies, including Blocktrade, grow.
let's dive in
More companies, more user confidence and more costs
While the clarity of EU the regulations will bring more businesses to the region and more trust among customers, it will also pose challenges for many cryptocurrency providers in terms of costs, Niedermüller said.
Recently, EU legislators approved the highly anticipated comprehensive framework for crypto, Markets in Crypto-Assets (Mica).
The biggest benefit of MiCA is that companies will need to obtain an EU license, Niedermüller said. cryptonews.com.
While the rules are now scattered and unclear, the European Union seems to have understood the "benefits of having a financial crypto market."
The latest we should expect to apply is January 1, 2025.
But Niedermüller also expects to see the forefront of some jurisdictions and players in terms of meeting the requirements. For example, Estonian regulators, he said, have already implemented many of them.
He pointed out that,
“With stricter regulations, we will see more trust from the people.”
Not only will the rules be clearer for companies, but also for users.
Costs and paperwork galore
While MiCA has many positive aspects, it will surely make some aspects more difficult.
Requirements on the compliance and reporting side will demand more tools, resources, and staff, including employees from the legal and compliance departments.
In addition, it is necessary to carry out many audits. And these are expensive.
“Only last year, Blocktrade paid €80,000 for audits. We paid a large sum for the advice of lawyers in this direction and we had to have a lot of things [such as] transaction monitoring tools and a very professional audited custodian.”
Many cryptocurrency providers will have big problems due to costs, because we are still “a bit of a bear market,” Niedermüller said, and revenues are not coming in as much as expected. At the same time, regulation is picking up.
So it is likely that we will see a lot of consolidation and increased professionalism in the market as MiCA kicks in.
US companies could migrate to the EU after recent SEC moves
The CEO has noticed that some American companies are thinking of coming or are already moving to Europe.
He USDC stablecoin issuer, Circlerecently Announced which will house its European headquarters in Paris, for example.
"Because [companies] have clarity in Europe”.
He USA it cannot give them the regulatory certainty they need, and one can argue that it has been tested with the latest series of legal moves made by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SECOND), specifically against Binance and coin base.
Other countries are also likely to copy MiCa to some extent, Niedermüller said.
Gamification as an important part of future growth
“We don't want to be like every other cryptocurrency exchange, so last year we came out with a new strategy built around gamification and gamingsaid Niedermuller.
The goal is to overcome a common challenge in the industry: users who use a platform only occasionally. This is not useful to the user, the company or the investors.
But engaging the user and making the interaction an entertaining and rewarding experience will make them come back to the platform frequently.
Blocktrade works to enable its users to use the BTEX token in a gamified environment for benefits such as discounted credit card deposit fees, increased cash back, and more APIs in the betting once it is introduced in the summer.
At the end of May, Blocktrade Announced closing its exclusive BTEX sales round, raising €4.5 million from over 1,400 community members in 42 countries.
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Learn more:
- Framework for Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Signed into Law by EU Officials
- MiCA: a catalyst to increase VC funding in European crypto startups
- Blocktrade Closes Blocktrade Exchange Token Sale Round
- Blocktrade Launches Blocktrade 3.0 Gamified Crypto Platform
- Blockchain Games in 2022: Play-to-Earn, Gamification, Interoperability and Top Publishers
- The 10 best NFT games to play (and win)
