Elrond Wins Approval to Issue E-Money in Europe

Elrond will soon be able to issue e-money in European Union, thanks to regulatory approval of its recent acquisition.

On Thursday, the blockchain startup won the approval of the Romanian Central bank to acquire a fintech company Twispay. Twispay is a Romanian financial institution that provides payment services and issues electronic money. It also offers payment services for Visa and Mastercard.

Twinspay also has the license to operate in the entire European Economic Area. That includes the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. Elrond, a tech firm behind a scalable level 1 blockchain network, claims that this acquisition will give it the license to issue e-money throughout Europe.

Elrond says that this will allow them to make a breakthrough in the European markets. In fact, the company called the move a huge step for crypto.

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Elrond made a strategic first move to establish itself as a bridge between traditional finance and the crypto space.

The company wants to complement traditional finance with its “fast, scalable and inexpensive” blockchain network. They claim that Europeans will now have access to much cheaper financial services.

Negotiations, which started in October 2021 pended on the approval of the Bank of Romania. With their approval, the company can go forward with the acquisition.

Shifting Regulatory Sentiment in Europe

Elrond CEO Beniamin Mincu welcomed the decision. He believes that it shows that authorities may be shifting their positions toward crypto.

This landmark decision from the Romanian Central Bank opens the door for EU citizens to significantly benefit.

Moreover, he stated that the move could signal a regulatory shift in Europe.

This shows that central banks may be switching from a counterpoint to the crypto space, toward a more neutral or even potentially favorable point

Moreover, he pointed out that EU Commission’s proposed Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) allows “licensed e-money institutions” to issue stablecoins. That would mean that Elrond will now be able to sell stablecoins to its users throughout Europe. In turn, Europeans will be able to convert those stablecoins into other crypto assets.

This puts Elrond in a strategic position to offer a sustainable infrastructure for completely new payment rails that is faster, cheaper, transparent, and open to people all around the world.

The decision comes at a time when the EU Parliament is seeking to limit the use of energy-intensive blockchains. Elrond, on the other hand, boasts of its “carbon-negative” status.

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Due to their energy demands and carbon footprint, regulators will likely target Proof of Work (PoW) blockchains. In fact, a senior EU regulator has called for a ban on crypto mining alltogether. Mining is a key component of PoW networks.