Hong Kong-Based HashKey Obtains VASP Licence in Ireland to Comply With EU's AMLD5

HashKey Europe, the subsidiary of Hong Kong-based HaskhKey crypto exchange, has secured an operational licence in Ireland. The Central Bank of Ireland has granted a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licence to the exchange, which grants the firm permission to offer a variety of crypto-related services in the country. Ireland is one of many EU countries that have begun to attract crypto firms after the region adopted a comprehensive set of regulations to oversee the sector.

The firm said in an announcement that the newly acquired VASP licence is its first registration that is fully compliant with the EU's anti-money laundering guidelines.

The group also said in a post on X (formerly Twiter) that this development is an important step in its global expansion plans.

Having secured this licence, the exchange will now be able to offer services like fiat-to-crypto and crypto-to-crypto exchanges. Custodial wallets are another service that the exchange can now offer in Ireland.

Transactions facilitated through cryptocurrencies are largely untraceable and can hence be exploited to process illegal transactions. This licence from Ireland's central bank now brings HashKey under its supervision for activities identified to be linked to money laundering and terror financing.

“HashKey Group remains dedicated to ensuring compliance with international regulations, delivering value-added services, and fostering trust within the ecosystem,” the post by the HashKey Group noted. Singapore, Japan, and Bermuda are other regions where HashKey has obtained operational approvals.

Crypto in the EU

EU's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation were finalised in 2022. The regulations went into effect on December 30, 2024.

The rules that are part of this legislation cover preventative and risk mitigation steps linked to crypto-based activities like insider dealing, unlawful disclosure of inside information, and market manipulation. The MiCA laws mandate foreign crypto firms to secure a licence from at least one of the EU's 27 national financial regulators and publish white papers and financial risk warnings around the products and services they are offering.

Under the rules, EU nations have already begun taking measures to safeguard the investor community against financial risks that volatile crypto assets can pose to them. Last September, Sweden classified some crypto exchanges and crypto-related service providers as 'professional money launderers'. The regulators there said they identified these exchanges being used by criminals to move around illegal funds.

France and Luxembourg, meanwhile, are among EU nations that are seeing an expansion in their respective crypto sectors.