Payward Europe Solutions, an Irish subsidiary of Kraken registered in Dublin, was awarded virtual asset service provider (VASP) authorization from the Central Bank of Ireland on April 18.

The VASP authorization comes at a critical time for Kraken. The European Union is scheduled to conduct its final vote on the long-awaited Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation.

The MiCA legislation is expected to pass after preliminary voting showed overwhelming nonpartisan support. If it does, the resulting changes will require any company operating as a CASP — a crypto assets service provider — in the EU to register with one of the union’s 27 authorized regulators.

Kraken, or rather its Irish subsidiary Payward Europe Solutions, has received such qualification, becoming only the third cryptocurrency outlet to do so. Exchanges Gemini and Coinbase received their VASP authorization in July and December of 2022 respectively.

(by Tristan Greene)