BitMEX's One-Stop Crypto Shop in DACH Region Plan Gets a Banking Twist

cryptonews.com:

BXM Operations AG, a company set up by executives of crypto exchange platform BitMEX, plans to purchase German bank Bankhaus von der Heydt as the BitMEX group aims to establish a one-stop-shop for regulated crypto products in the DACH region (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland).

The acquisition is subject to approval by Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), and it is expected to be finalized in mid-2022, BitMEX said today. No further details about the deal were disclosed.

“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 crypto products powerhouse in the heart of Europe,” Alexander Höptner, CEO of BitMEX and Co-founder of BXM Operations AG, was quoted as saying in the announcement.

With relation to BitMEX’s plans to expand its crypto products offer throughout the German-speaking region of Europe, Stephan Lutz, Chief Financial Officer of BitMEX and another Co-founder of BXM, said that “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.”

In October 2021 BitMEX announced it is expanding its brokerage service BitMEX Link to Switzerland. They said they will develop new business lines and functions under the BitMEX brand, including capabilities for spot, brokerage, custody, information products, and an academy "to deepen knowledge of digital assets and crypto trading."

Meanwhile, once the purchase is completed, the German bank is to continue its operations as a standalone business unit, and Höptner and Lutz will join its supervisory board,