BitMEX plans to purchase a 268-year old German bank

BMX Operations, the company behind BitMEX Group, has announced it will be acquiring one of the oldest banks in Germany. The group has already signed the purchase agreement for Bankhaus von der Heydt.

This is not the first deal for this bank in the digital asset sector. The bank is among Germany’s first regulated financial institutions to offer crypto-related services.

BitMEX Group acquires German bank

Bankhaus von der Heydt was founded in 1754, making it one of the first banks in Germany. BitMEX speculates that the acquisition of this bank will be complete by mid of this year. However, the maturity of this deal will depend upon the time taken by BaFin to approve the deal.

The announcement from BitMEX did not reveal the price at which this bank would be purchased or any other agreement regarding this purchase. However, it noted that the bank would continue its operations independently once the purchase deal was complete.

The announcement further stated that Alexander Hoptner and Stephan Lutz, veterans in the German business arena, would be joining the supervisory board at the bank.

Commenting on this purchase, Hoptner stated, “Through combining the regulated digital assets expertise of Bankhaus von der Heydt with the crypto innovation and scale of BitMEX, I believe we can create a regulated products powerhouse in the heart of Europe.”

Lutz, who will now be on the supervisory board, added, “Germany, as the largest economy in Europe, combines an innovative approach to digital assets with strong regulatory oversight and rule of law – making it a prime market for BitMEX’s expansion in Europe.”

BitMEX promoting its operations in Europe

The purchase of this bank comes when the exchange is pushing for its operations in Europe. At the beginning of the year, the group launched its crypto brokerage division in Switzerland. The division was dubbed BitMEX Link.

The brokerage service will be owned by BMX Link AG, one of the group’s subsidiaries. The group has been pushing for the growth of its operations in Europe to recover from the major loss in market share caused after the group was sued by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission in October 2020.

The CFTC filed a case against BitMEX and its executives for operating a trading platform that was not registered. The group has settled the case against the company by paying a $100 million fine.

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