Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp, which happens to be the longest standing exchange, will soon be offering funding in British pounds. This is music in the ears of crypto users and traders who are based in the UK, who have had to contend with converting funds denominated in other currencies such as the U.S dollar.
The exchange, which also happens to be the largest crypto exchange in Europe, will be partnering with crypto brokerage, BCB group, in order to allow users to deposit and withdraw funds in GBP. The feature which has been made possible by an agreement between the exchange and the brokerage firm will be enabled by the end of the year according to a statement.
The crypto brokerage firm, which happens to be an FCA-regulated payments and “e-money” institution, was able to set up different client accounts for Bitstamp. A representative from the brokerage firm BCB, explained their initial processing activities using only the Euro and the U.S dollar; and went on to explain why they were now also incorporating the British pound.
“In my speculative view, Bitstamp has concentrated on the EUR and USD markets due to their greater depth of liquidity versus GBP. But now that more crypto liquidity venues are trading in GBP, and now that there is more institutional appetite from GBP clients, it makes sense to have a robust channel for deposits and withdrawals in this currency.”
BCB group CEO Oliver von Landsberg-Sadie lauded the partnership between the crypto brokerage firm and Bitstamp since it enabled British users to transact onshore.
“We value this partnership because it enables UK clients to transact with Bitstamp onshore, rather than having to send funds offshore,”
It is important to note that the announcement does not mean that the company will straight away begin offering GBP trading pairs. Despite this however, Bitstamp CEO Nejc Kodric sees the partnership as a way to develop and expand the company’s payment rails to its customer base world-wide. The company already supports cross-border bank transfers in Australian dollars, Japanese Yen, and Swiss francs, but these funds are converted to either USD or EUR.”
This new development will definitely elicit a positive reaction among UK users and traders who regularly interact with Bitstamp. The deal between Europe’s largest crypto exchange Bitstamp, and crypto brokerage firm BCB group, came into fruition after 5 months of hard work.
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