Veli Acquires European Crypto License to Enhance Regulatory Status

As of July 2024, Veli has officially acquired a Virtual Asset Provider (VASP) License in Bulgaria. This license reflects our long-term commitment to legal compliance, increasing customer trust, improving our service and, by extent, our scope of business. It will also help us attract more institutional clients and financial advisory firms.

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VASP License Opens New Doors for Veli

With this license, Veli is able to provide exchange services between virtual currencies and recognized FIAT currencies,as well as provide custodial wallet services for storage of virtual assets. This is not only limited to Bulgaria, but rather extends to all EU citizens without direct advertising.

Bulgaria’s VASP License, regulated by their National Revenue Agency (NRA), is governed by their Measures Against Money Laundering Act (MAMLA), whose legal provisions are partially transferred from the European Union’s very own 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD). With Bulgaria also being a member of the EU, this represents an important step towards Veli’s European legal integration.

Legal compliance and recognition opens the doors for business growth, facilitates partnerships and the provision of financial services, which is why we’ve made it a priority. Being licensed in a country with a widely accepted European regulatory framework will attract more institutional clients, as well as advisory houses, from throughout the continent.

Veli’s New Obligations

Gaining this license involves taking proactive security measures in regard to customer due diligence, and transaction risk assessment. Increased transparency in this field, and having legal recognition of this scale, increase customer trust and partner confidence, both of which are paramount to our business growth. 

Guided by MAMLA, acquiring the VASP license obligates Veli and other crypto businesses to engage in the following activities:

  • Establish and carry out customer due diligence and know-your-customer procedures; where the former should be performed at simplified, advanced, or complex levels; complex due diligence is a standard and must be performed in the cases of transactions exceeding a provided amount regardless of whether that transaction is carried out in a single operation or several.

  • Record transactions by collecting and maintaining relevant information and documentation in relation to the identifications of customers, transactions, and related activities.

  • Assess risks of money laundering, terrorist financing, and other criminal financial activities by employing internal standardized procedures.

  • In the case of transfers above a given amount, notify the Financial Intelligence Directorate of the State Agency for National Security.

  • Disclose information about suspicious customers, transactions, and other activities to the Financial Intelligence Directorate of the State Agency for National Security in accordance with the internal procedures.

Next Steps for Veli

Our next step is aiming towards obtaining a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) License, the European Union’s cryptocurrency regulatory framework, to further expand our client scope throughout Europe.

For our customers, this achievement indicates a dedication to transparency and legality, increasing trust and forming a more comfortable trading experience. Regulatory adherence has long been our priority, and we look forward to growing our accreditation portfolio in the future.

We are thrilled to bring cryptocurrencies, crypto strategies and tokenized assets to financial advisory firms all over Europe, in a compliant way, through the Veli Financial Advisor platform.

Send us an email at support@veli.io to get onboarded!

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