Paxos expands its stablecoin in the EU with the acquisition of Membrane Finance, an electronic money institution (IME) licensed in Finland. Once the acquisition is approved, Paxos makes its asset portfolio compliant with MiCA (Markets in Crypto Asset) regulations.
Paxos and stablecoins in the EU: the acquisition of Membrane Finance with a license in Finland
Paxos is awaiting regulatory approval to acquire Membrane Finance, an electronic money institution (IME) licensed in Finland. If this happens, Paxos will be able to expand its stablecoins in the EU as well.
Today, Paxos announced an agreement to acquire @membranefinance, an EMI based and licensed in Finland. Once completed, Paxos will be a fully licensed EMI in Finland and the EU. Read more here! https://t.co/O08KdWEl6D
— Paxos (@Paxos) November 19, 2024
“Today Paxos announced an agreement for the acquisition of @membranefinance, an IME based and licensed in Finland. Once the operation is completed, Paxos will be a fully authorized IME in Finland and the EU. Read here!”
In practice, Paxos has an acquisition agreement with Membrane Finance that will allow it to become an IME itself compliant with the EU’s MiCA.
This means that the stablecoin issuer is expanding in a regulated manner in the European market.
On the other hand, Membrane Finance is the issuer of stablecoins in dollars and euros and holds a passportable Finnish license. This license is recognized in 30 European countries.
Paxos and the regulated expansion of stablecoins in the EU
As is known, Paxos is an issuer of stablecoins backed by USD, available for retail and institutional users in various markets around the world.
With this agreement, Paxos implements its strategy to enter the European stablecoin market.
In this regard, Walter Hessert, head of strategy at Paxos, commented:
“The stablecoin offer a global solution to the challenges that countless people and companies feel when it comes to money movements and payments. The stablecoins are becoming increasingly widespread in the market, as more and more use cases emerge for everyday users. The Paxos platform offers the most secure and compliant stablecoin and stablecoin infrastructure globally. With Membrane, we expect to extend our reach to EU customers who wish to benefit from the stablecoin.”
Membrane Finance is the issuer of the stablecoins EUROe, launched in February 2023, and eUSD. In contrast, Paxos has never issued euro stablecoins, only in dollars and gold.
The crypto consortium for the launch of Global Dollar
Recently, Paxos has made headlines for being part of the new crypto consortium together with Robinhood, Kraken, and other companies, created for the launch of a new stablecoin.
This is Global Dollar (USDG), and it is a stablecoin pegged to the USD dollar that will be developed on the open network Global Dollar Network.
At the moment, its smart contract has been launched on the Ethereum blockchain and it has been stated that approximately 10 million USDG tokens will be issued, fully redeemable by Paxos at par in USD.