Netherlands registers first consumer-facing crypto platform since AMLD5

Crypto exchange BLOX received the go-ahead to operate in the Netherlands, making it the first platform to do so since the country implemented the European Union’s 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive, or AMLD5.

“BLOX is the first consumer-focused cryptocurrency company that will be included in the registry of the Dutch Central Bank,” the company said in a blog announcement today. “This registration is mandatory in the Netherlands for every company that allows its users to buy, sell, trade and hold cryptocurrencies.”

Netherlands-based crypto services provider AMDAX BV made headlines in October as the inaugural company of its kind in the newly regulated region. AMDAX, however, markets to larger investors. “AMDAX supports business as well as private investors with a portfolio – starting with investments of 2.5 Bitcoin – the trade of crypto currencies, a secure storage and insured custody,” said an October statement from AMDAX on Finextra. 

Visible on a list of approved crypto service providers, Blox BV now touts registration from De Nederlandsche Bank NV, the central bank of the Netherlands. Crypto exchange Anycoin Direct also registered today. 

“BLOX allows consumers to invest in their favourite digital currency for as little as €1,” the company’s blog post explained. “Therefore the approval of the Dutch Central Bank means that cryptocurrencies will remain widely accessible to the general public.”

In contrast to the three recently-approved entities, digital asset derivatives exchange Deribit departed from the Netherlands back in January 2020 to avoid the new regulations.