plasma XPL$0.3564A blockchain company building a network focused on stablecoins has announced a major expansion in Europe to offer regulated payment services.
The company announced on Thursday that it has acquired a virtual asset service provider (VASP) licensed entity in Italy, allowing it to legally handle cryptocurrency transactions and custody assets in the region. As part of its EU expansion, the company opened a new office in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and appointed a chief compliance officer and a money laundering reporting officer. Plasma did not name the acquired companies, and a spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment.
“The Netherlands is one of Europe's most established payments hubs,” Adam Jacobs, head of global payments at Plasma, said in a statement. “Growing our team and regulatory presence here gives us a path to owning more of the payments stack, from stablecoin payments to licensed financial infrastructure.”
The company also plans to apply for Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) status under the EU's new MiCA regulation and obtain an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license. These moves will allow Plasma to exchange assets, issue cards and hold customer funds under regulatory protection.
“By controlling a fully licensed payments stack, we can provide greater reliability and access to merchants, people and institutions,” Jacobs added.
Plasma emerges as a fast-growing blockchain rail designed for global stablecoin payments, a potentially huge market due to the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies in cross-border funds transfers. Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency whose price is pegged to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar, have the potential to offer faster and cheaper payments compared to traditional payment rails, proponents say. Stablecoins, currently a $300 billion asset class, could reach $4 trillion by the end of this decade as they become increasingly integrated into global banking and financial networks, a Citibank report said last month.
Since its public launch just a month ago, Plasma Chain has attracted $7 billion in stablecoin deposits, making it the fifth-largest blockchain by stablecoin supply.
Plasma said it aims to use these licenses to power a stablecoin-based neobank called Plasma One. The company said that owning a complete compliance stack allows it to segregate and protect customer funds under EU law, while offering faster settlements, lower fees and fewer intermediaries.
“Our objective is to set a high standard for blockchain-native stablecoin infrastructure by securing the appropriate licenses and owning a regulated stack end-to-end,” Plasma General Counsel Jacob Whitman said in a statement.
