BUX, an Amsterdam-based fintech that wants to make investing more attractive to younger people, has acquired cryptocurrency exchange Blockport. The acquisition will allow BUX to have a platform on which to launch its BUX Crypto offering, which will be another of the growing number of commission-free exchanges that are starting to populate the crypto space.
Our next adventure – BUX Crypto ? welcome to the team @blockportio ? https://t.co/SjxjEBtllK
— BUX (@bux) January 9, 2020
BUX Bites the Crypto Bullet
BUX was founded in 2013, focusing on traditional stocks for years until the crypto craze attracted them to the possibilities within the new paradigm. Now, with the acquisition of Blockport, they are able to add crypto to the product roster and “drive the company’s mission to become the single destination for young investors in Europe”. Blockport will rebrand and will be integrated into the BUX family, with the founders and core team members of Blockport joining BUX to manage the offering, set to launch this quarter.
Blockport stated in a blog post that they saw the acquisition as “a new and promising chapter for Blockport”, revealing that discussions with BUX in fact started in mid-2017 and adding that the companies “share the same mission to make investing more intuitive, affordable and accessible to the greater public.”
BUX to Weather Dutch Regulatory Storm
Being based in the Netherlands, BUX has faced the prospect of dramatically heightened crypto regulations in the country, including the country’s interpretation of AMLD5 and Financial Action Task Force rules.
These regulations will require BUX to register with the country’s central bank and capture an unprecedented level of information from their customers, requirements that have seen some crypto companies, such as Deribit, leave for more crypto friendly nations, while others, such as Simplecoin, have closed down altogether.
BUX however has stated that it will register with the Dutch Central Bank as a crypto services provider, leaving users in no doubt as to their intentions to become a serious player in the crypto space.
