Bitcoin Services Get a Boost in Europe

A Dutch company has just received a special permit to offer Bitcoin services across Europe. This permit is under a new set of rules called MiCA. These rules are designed to make crypto services safer and more reliable. The company, Blockrise, can now offer services like keeping Bitcoin safe, trading it, and managing Bitcoin investments. They can do this in any European country. This is a big deal because it means they have to follow strict rules to protect their customers. Blockrise is also introducing a new service: Bitcoin-backed loans for businesses. These loans start at 20, 000 euros. Customers can use their Bitcoin as collateral to get a loan. The interest rate is 8%, but it can change every month. The MiCA rules don't cover everything yet. For example, they don't regulate lending services like the one Blockrise is offering. But the company's CEO is hopeful that the rules will expand in the future to include more services like lending, mining, and payments. Blockrise was founded in 2017. They offer a special kind of wallet for their customers. It's not a traditional self-custody wallet where users have full control with a private key. Instead, customers have a digital key from Blockrise that can only be used on their platform. This key, combined with Blockrise's security measures, is needed to make transactions. The company currently manages about 100 million euros in customer assets. However, the CEO points out that measuring assets under management is tricky because of their unique wallet structure.