Bitstamp, one of the world’s oldest and largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is relocating its European clients from the United Kingdom.
Bitstamp is now migrating the accounts of its customers in the U.K. to Bitstamp Europe SA, a business entity based in Luxembourg. An executive at the exchange confirmed the news to Cointelegraph on Aug. 25.
Vasja Zupan, COO of Bitstamp, told Cointelegraph that Bitstamp is migrating European clients from its Bitstamp Ltd. entity to the Luxembourg-based entity. According to the executive, Bitstamp has been planning to migrate the clients for months.
Zupan highlighted that the account migration “does not involve any relocation or change in operations, staff or offices.”
At publishing time, Bitstamp has not released a public statement regarding the reported relocation.
Founded in 2011, Bitstamp is one of the world’s first platforms providing transactions in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). Bitstamp’s London-based arm, Bitstamp Limited, has been operating since July 2012, according to data from Bloomberg. Bitstamp’s Luxembourg-based branch, Bitstamp Europe SA, was set up in 2016, following regulatory approval to operate in the European Union.
Bitstamp’s relocation could apparently be related to Brexit. After the U.K. officially withdrew from the EU on Feb. 1, 2020, officials have been actively negotiating an agreement to facilitate trade operations between the U.K. and EU countries. On Aug. 21, major EU’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier warned that a post-Brexit deal between the EU and the U.K. looks “unlikely,” accusing the British government of “wasting valuable time.”
Disclaimer: this article was updated to outline that Bitstamp will keep operating in the United Kingdom while moving European accounts to Bitstamp Europe SA.