Blockrise Secures Dutch MiCA License, Paving the Way for Bitcoin-Backed Loans in Europe

Blockrise, a startup located in the Netherlands that focuses solely on Bitcoin, has successfully obtained a regulatory license, enabling legitimate Bitcoin financial services across Europe. The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) has issued this license under the new Europe-wide Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), as announced by the company on Wednesday.

Key Takeaways

Blockrise, a Netherlands-based startup, has received a MiCA license for regulated Bitcoin services across Europe.
The company will offer Bitcoin-backed business loans starting at €20,000 ($23,150).
Current interest rates for the loans are 8%, reviewed monthly.
MiCA, effective fully by late 2024, currently lacks regulations for lending services, with potential for expansion in the future.
Blockrise employs a semi-custodial wallet structure for managing client assets, totaling around €100 million ($116 million).

Blockrise wins Dutch MiCA license, brings Bitcoin-backed loans to EU businesses

This MiCA license, granted on Tuesday, empowers Blockrise to deliver a range of Bitcoin services, including custody solutions, trading, and asset management, throughout Europe. In addition, the company is launching a new service that allows its business clients to secure loans backed by Bitcoin, even though MiCA does not yet regulate cryptocurrency lending services.

Business Loans Starting at €20,000 ($23,000)

“MiCA sets the foundation for Blockrise to offer Bitcoin-backed loans exclusively to business clients to comply with regulatory conditions,” stated Blockrise CEO Jos Lazet in a conversation with Cointelegraph. Starting today, Blockrise is introducing a credit service to all its corporate clients, with business loans beginning at €20,000 (approximately $23,150).

“Clients can use their Bitcoin as collateral to take out a loan,” Lazet explained, noting that the current interest rate stands at 8%, subject to monthly revisions.

Blockrise CEO Jos Lazet (left) and Chief Technology Officer Jasper Hu. Source: Blockrise

While MiCA will be fully implemented by late 2024, covering aspects such as crypto issuance and trading, it currently lacks regulations for several services including lending and decentralized finance (DeFi). Addressing the existing regulatory landscape, Lazet expressed a positive outlook on MiCA's future expansion.

“While MiCA doesn’t cover everything yet, we anticipate it will grow over time to include more areas like lending, mining, payments, and beyond,” Lazet commented.

Founded in 2017, Blockrise is a crypto asset management firm that utilizes a “semi-custodial wallet structure.” In contrast to traditional self-custody methods that rely on a private key for asset recovery, Blockrise clients use a digital Blockrise key, which holds no intrinsic value aside from accessing Bitcoin on the platform.

“Blockrise employs various vaults, known as Hardware Security Modules, that securely generate Bitcoin wallets, ensuring that keys cannot be extracted from the vault,” Lazet explained. For transactions to occur, both the user’s Blockrise key and Blockrise's consent are required.

Since Blockrise does not traditionally manage user funds in a custodial manner, Lazet noted that measuring assets under management can be complex. Currently, the company manages assets worth approximately €100 million (around $116 million) from its clients.