Gibraltar Stock Exchange Receives Purchase Proposal by Blockchain Firm

The stock exchange of Gibraltar, a British territory, has received a purchase offer by a blockchain firm called Valereum. The purchase, that is set to occur in the new year, if effective, might make the Gibraltar Stock Exchange the first bourse where cryptocurrencies and stocks could be traded with cryptocurrencies. Regulators are currently reviewing this offer.

Gibraltar Could Become a Crypto Haven

Gibraltar might make history as the territory in which the first mixed bourse, with crypto assets and stocks available for investors, operates. The main bourse of the British territory, the Gibraltar Stock Exchange, has received a purchase offer from Valereum, a blockchain firm. The firm, which is based in Gibraltar, would be seeking to acquire 80% of the said bourse, with its actual owner, the Global Stock Exchange Group, keeping 20% of the company.

The two companies signed an option for this acquisition back in October, where the company announced its intention of completing this deal. However, the details of the acquisition had not been released to the public. The option reveal document states:

The exercise of the Option and the acquisition of 80% of the GSX (the “Acquisition”) are subject to approval by the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission (“GFSC”). Valereum will seek approval from GFSC to establish the GSX as one of the world’s first fully regulated, integrated fiat and digital exchanges.

The report also stated that the group will seek to integrate cryptocurrency in the bourse if the deal passes.

Regulatory Complications

The possible approval of the deal by regulators of the country has caused a series of reactions from experts and people observing the outcome. Richard Poulden, chairman of Valereum, is extremely positive about the deal, and has stated that this is a step in the evolution of digital assets in their way of becoming tradeable at a worldwide scale. However, not all are so optimistic about this probable deal.

Many are hesitant about the effect that this could have on the oversight that other global regulator groups, like the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), could exert on the country. Charlie Steele, a partner at Forensic Risk Alliance, a consulting firm says:

It could enable or facilitate money laundering, sanctions evasion, terrorist financing, so everyone’s wary of that as well,

Valereum also signed a purchase agreement with the Juno Group, a trust management company that will be able to provide custody services for the cryptocurrency assets acquired in the exchange, even if the deal needs to be ratified by regulators.