The contract is signed, the ink has dried. All eyes are now on BaFin, as their go-ahead for the takeover is still pending. “A standard process” is that, explains an employee of the financial institution Von der Heydt bank (BVDH), which as one of the oldest local banks is about to change ownership. the BitMEX Group previously had the acquisition per press release announced.
The Singapore crypto exchange is thus putting out feelers to Europe. The brokerage service had previously been launched in Switzerland BitMEX link, which is intended to enable trading in digital assets in the Alpine state in the future. The long-term goal is “the creation of a new powerhouse for crypto products in the heart of Europe”, says CEO Alexander Höptner, former head of the Stuttgart Stock Exchange.
Münchener Bank will remain an independent company – however, Höptner and BitMEX CFO Stephan Lutz will move to the supervisory board. In the future, the BVDH is likely to play a key role in the expansion plans of the crypto exchange. Because the world of cryptocurrencies, tokenization and blockchain applications is not new territory for the financial institution. As one of the few German financial institutions, the company has a provisional crypto custody license. This year they hope to receive a full permit from BaFin, the bank told BTC-ECHO. In principle, it is conceivable that one day the custody of cryptocurrencies for BitMEX will be taken over in the future, but it is still premature.
“Acquisition is a sign of maturity”
The fact that crypto companies are now also making acquisition opportunities outside of space is a “sign of maturity,” Höptner told BTC-ECHO.
It is a signal of our growth ambitions both in Europe and worldwide. We will continue to aggressively expand to advance our Beyond Derivatives strategy.
Alexander Höptner, CEO at BitMEX to BTC-ECHO
BitMEX itself has also matured in particular. The management at the time, headed by the founding trio of Arthur Hayes, Ben Delo and Samuel Reed, faced investigations by the US in October 2020 Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) confronted. In addition to disregarding KYC and AML guidelines, the financial authorities also accused the crypto exchange of unlicensed trading in crypto derivatives. Hayes, Delo, Reed and one other person were arrested. The trial is scheduled to begin on March 28.
As a consequence, BitMEX changed the management team. Alexander Höptner moved from the Stuttgart Stock Exchange to the executive chair of the crypto exchange. Called last week Mark Hughes and Raphael Polansky as Chief Risk Officer (CRO) or Chief Operating Officer (COO) in leading positions.
Hughes in particular should be an interesting personality for the European region. Previously he was with Coinbase responsible for European business, worked closely with regulators. Now he is continuing this activity for BitMEX.
In general, BitMEX seems to have learned from past mistakes and is trying to improve. Whether these efforts will suffice for the regulatory authorities in Europe is another matter.
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