Kraken exchange wants to get a European licence this year

Kraken is planning to become a publicly-listed company and could enter more jurisdictions in Europe soon

Leading US-based cryptocurrency exchange Kraken has announced that it intends to obtain a European regulatory licence before the end of the year. This comes as the cryptocurrency exchange seeks to enter a few European countries.

Kraken co-founder and CEO Jesse Powell revealed this during an interview with German business news agency Handelsblatt. According to Powell, Kraken is already in talks with multiple regulators across Europe in a bid to gain regulatory approval.

Powell said Malta, Luxembourg and Ireland are the most likely countries to grant the cryptocurrency exchange the required licence to operate within Europe. However, he admitted that Kraken is yet to reach a decision regarding the European jurisdiction in which it will apply for regulatory approval but it intends to obtain a licence before the end of the year.

The cryptocurrency exchange has maintained a large presence in Europe, allowing its users to buy, sell and trade a wide range of cryptocurrencies on its website and mobile app platforms. At the moment, Kraken operates in over 190 countries globally and intends to gain regulatory approval to ensure it remains compliant with the regulators in each country.

Kraken is also planning to go public before the end of the year or sometime next year. Powell had previously admitted that the cryptocurrency exchange is having doubts about listing in the United States due to the regulatory uncertainties in the country.

He stated that Kraken is looking at other possible destinations, including the United Arabs Emirate (UAE), Hong Kong and a few others. Kraken is reluctant to go public via the direct listing method Coinbase used, with Coinbase’s stock price down by over 40% from the all-time high it touched on its first day.

Kraken might list on the stock exchange via an initial public offering (IPO). Another cryptocurrency exchange looking to go public is Binance. However, its recent regulatory struggles might make it hard to achieve this goal at the moment.