BANXA Holdings Inc (TSX-V:BNXA, OTCQX:BNXAF) said it has been granted Money Transmitter Licenses (MTLs) in Tennessee, Virginia and Florida, as well as the US territory of Puerto Rico.
Updating investors on its US operations, the company said the latest additions mean it now holds 32 MTLs in the US and expects seven more to be granted in 2023 based on active applications.
As it does not require MTLs to operate in 10 states and territories, Banxa said it is already able to service 42 states and territories in the US, and expects that to rise to 49 by the end of the year.
Additionally, it said it expects to lodge two more MTL applications in late 2023 or early 2024, taking the total to 51.
The company has prioritized obtaining local payments and digital asset transaction licenses as central to its long-term growth strategy.
“Banxa is focused on providing enterprise-grade digital asset infrastructure for the new era of embedded crypto,” the company’s CEO Holger Arians said in a statement.
“We combine the US and global licenses and registrations with our global payment gateways and our industry-leading technology to provide a powerful solution that is used by over 200 partners (digital asset platforms) and their users worldwide.
Arians said it was “encouraging” to see the latest mergers and acquisition (M&A) activity by US large tech companies wanting to acquire organisations with MTLs in the digital assets arena.
“Seeing a premium being placed on licensing portfolios is a positive signal for Banxa,” he added.
Outside of the US, Banxa noted that it holds licenses/registrations in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and Lithuania.
With operations also established in Brazil and Turkey, it said it believes it is strategically well placed to capitalize on future regulatory evolution in these countries too.
After lodging its ‘Crypto Asset Business’ application with the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Banxa said it anticipates lodging a ‘Crypto Asset Services Provider’ (CASP) application for the Europe Union under the ‘Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation’ (MiCA) in 2024.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com