Huobi becomes latest firm to snag Gibraltar DLT licence

Cryptocurrency exchange Huobi has received a distributed ledger technology (DLT) licence in Gibraltar.

The Gibraltar Financial Services Commission’s (GFSC) regulatory framework on DLT was put in place earlier this year. Coinfloor and Gibraltar Blockchain Exchange (GBX) have also snagged licences.

“This announcement is yet another example of the effective road to market Gibraltar is providing for companies seeking continued innovation under the umbrella of sensible and secure regulation,” says Albert Isola, Gibraltar’s Minister for Commerce.

“The robust DLT legislation we have introduced gives quality companies like Huobi a supportive framework on which they can further develop and cultivate sustainable legacies.”

Lendingblock

Yesterday we reported that GFSC had made an in-principle decision to grant Lendingblock, a securities lending platform for digital assets, authorisation as a DLT provider.

Steve Swain, CEO and Co-founder of Lendingblock, commented: “As a true believer in the importance of getting our industry into regulatory shape, seeking authorisation from a leading regulator was always a priority for us. The GFSC has developed one of the most advanced DLT regulatory frameworks in the world and this in-principle decision is a tremendous achievement.” 

The venture has been testing its platform with over 30 institutions and says that it is on track to launch the world’s first institutional digital assets lending exchange as a fully regulated DLT provider early in the new year. Market participants are now able to sign up for access and will be able to commence borrowing and lending BTC, ETC, BCH and LTC across various maturities from 2019.

“Securities lending is an important aspect of most traditional market participants’ return generating strategy and we see it as a particularly relevant to the crypto economy. Our technology and collaborative work with regulators and partners has enabled us to create the market and financial infrastructure needed to meet the demand for trading digital assets on an institutional level,” added Swain.