European Expansion Enabled by New Regulatory Framework
Blockrise, a Bitcoin-only startup based in the Netherlands, has obtained a crucial regulatory license that paves the way for fully regulated Bitcoin financial services across the European continent. The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) has issued Blockrise a license under the new Europe-wide Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA) framework, the company announced on Wednesday.
This MiCA license, granted on Tuesday, empowers Blockrise to offer its suite of Bitcoin services, encompassing custody solutions, trading, and asset management, throughout Europe.
New Bitcoin Loan Service for Business Clients
In conjunction with its regulatory approval, Blockrise is launching a novel service allowing its business clients to secure Bitcoin loans. This offering is being introduced even though MiCA does not yet comprehensively regulate cryptocurrency lending services.
Business Loans Starting at €20,000
“MiCA is the basis for Blockrise to provide Bitcoin-backed loans, only provisioning to business clients in order to stay within the regulatory constraints,” stated Jos Lazet, CEO of Blockrise, in comments to Cointelegraph.
Effective immediately, Blockrise will provide its new credit service to all corporate clients, with business loans commencing at €20,000 (approximately $23,150).
“Borrowers can collateralize their Bitcoin and open a loan against it,” Lazet explained, noting that the current interest rate stands at 8% but is subject to monthly review.
Understanding MiCA's Regulatory Scope and Future Potential
The Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), which became fully implemented in late 2024, governs the issuance and trading of crypto assets. However, it does not yet encompass a wide range of industry services and areas, including lending and decentralized finance (DeFi).
Addressing the current scope of MiCA, the Blockrise CEO expressed optimism regarding the framework's capacity for future expansion.
“MiCA doesn’t regulate everything yet, however, it is expected to extend over time and include more scopes, such as lending, mining, payments, etc,” Lazet commented. He further elaborated:
“MiCA is a requirement in order to provide Bitcoin-backed loans, such as the MiCA licenses to custody, transfer and broker.”
Blockrise's Unique Custody Model and Asset Management
Established in 2017, Blockrise operates as a crypto asset management firm employing a “semi-custodial wallet structure.” This model differs from pure self-custody, where individuals can recover their assets using a private key. With Blockrise, clients utilize a digital Blockrise key, which holds no intrinsic value independently but is essential for accessing Bitcoin on the platform, according to the CEO.
“Blockrise has multiple vaults, so-called Hardware security modules, which securely generates Bitcoin wallets, and the keys cannot be extracted out of the vault. To do a transaction, the user’s Blockrise key is needed,” Lazet explained, highlighting that transaction signing requires the involvement of both the user and Blockrise.
Given that Blockrise does not hold user funds in a conventional custodial manner, Lazet noted that measuring assets under management presents a challenge. The company currently manages approximately €100 million (around $116 million) in client assets.