Crypto Firm Change Receives License from Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets

Change, an uprising cryptocurrency exchange based in the Netherlands, announced on Tuesday that it has obtained approval from the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), the financial services regulator, to acquire a local investment company for providing further trading services.

The crypto firm said that the license would enable it to provide financial services to over 453 million people living in the European Economic Area (EEA).

Change further stated that the acquisition is set to boost its investment footprint with traditional opportunities - including everything from shares, stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), commodities to its established cryptocurrency and DeFi products.

The move has offered added peace of mind for the company’s investors and put the firm one step ahead of Europe’s potential landmark crypto regulation.

Kristjan Kangro, founder and CEO of Change, talked about the development and stated: “This is a huge step for us. Recently, we’ve invested significant sums in upgrading our platform and boosting our range of crypto services to compete on a global stage - but we want to do much more.”

The executive further elaborated: “This additional license means we can remove more complexities our community faces on their wealth creation journey. Combining our crypto expertise with our investment firm license’s new possibilities means we can ramp up our investment footprint and accelerate growth.

Overcoming Barriers to Investing

Founded in 2016 and based in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, Change is a fintech firm on a mission to enable everyone to take part in the world’s success. The financial services company allows users to invest as little as €10 into stocks, cryptocurrencies, and other assets, which are all secured by blockchain technology and accessible via the smartphone in users’ pockets.

Early this year, Change carried out research that identified the three primary reasons why millennials are not investing in stocks, including high fees, high entry barriers, and the complexity of the tools.