Israel-based cryptocurrency brokerage firm Bits of Gold is considering establishing a presence in Europe in the near future, according to a report from Finance Magnates.

Tomer Niv, the Chief Growth Officer for Bits of Gold, told Finance Magnates that the company is actively exploring opportunities in Europe. Bits of Gold is particularly focusing on Gibraltar and Switzerland:

“For now we focus on learning the regulatory systems of Gibraltar and Switzerland in order to upgrade our liquidity abilities,” Niv said to Finance Magnates. “We will definitely meet major players and banks in order to create new partnerships, and we don’t rule out the possibility of marketing to European clients in the future, as long as it will be abided to the law.”

Bits of Gold was founded in 2014. The Israel-based exchange has 50,000 registered private users. It’s one of the major platforms where Israelis can trade bitcoin and Ethereum for ILS. In addition to ILs pairs, Bits of Gold lets traders buy and sell bitcoin for USD and EUR.

“The 1% don’t use bitcoin exchanges,” explained Bits of Gold in a tweet. “They use brokers like Bits of Gold”.

https://twitter.com/BitsofGold_LTD/status/753509381858361344

Most recently, Bits of Gold has been focused on providing liquidity solutions for ICOs. Bits of Gold uses over the counter (OTC) trades to liquidate ICO revenues into ILS and deposit them into Israeli banks.

Bits of Gold also aims to be more than just a crypto brokerage: it aims to influence regulations. Bits of Gold describes itself as a “leading” force in crypto regulatory efforts in Israel, for example. The Israeli Ministry of Finance switched the company’s currency services provider to the new Financial Services Provider license earlier this year, in May.

The move is temporary, but it will likely receive permanent status in October of this year, further establishing crypto exchanges as a legitimate money services provider. Bits of Gold has been at the forefront of Israeli regulation.

They reportedly maintain “ongoing discussions with the Israeli regulators and banks about risk management,” for example. However, the brokerage has also “independently developed a system of reports to the Israeli Anti Money Laundering Authority”.

That system performs AML and KYC checks using third-party services like Chainalaysis and Thomson Reuters. Meanwhile, Bits of Gold’s compliance department is led by a former compliance officer from the Bank of Jerusalem.

Why is Bits of Gold focusing on Gibraltar and Switzerland? Well, both have emerged as popular spots for crypto startups in recent months. The country of Switzerland continues to develop regulatory frameworks to effectively govern ICOs, cryptocurrencies, and blockchains, while the territory of Gibraltar is pursuing similar regulations.

If Switzerland’s regulatory framework is able to attract a company like Bits of Gold, then that would be considered a huge win for the country. Clearly, Bits of Gold is interested. Stay tuned to see if Bits of Gold will open a European division in the near future.

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