Crypto Giants Battle for Europe: Who Will Rule the Derivatives Game?

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In the vast expanse of Europe, where the old world meets the new, a certain restlessness stirs among the financial titans. Crypto.com, a name whispered in drawing rooms and shouted in the bustling markets, has secured a license—yes, a Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) license—that grants it the right to offer cryptocurrency financial derivatives across the European Economic Area. One can almost hear the distant clinking of champagne glasses and the soft hum of servers spinning up in anticipation.

On the 21st of May, as the sun rose indifferently over the continent, Crypto.com’s co-founder and CEO, Kris Marszalek, declared with the solemnity of a czar: “We have already expanded our brand presence in Europe since receiving our MiCA licence and we now look forward to providing customers across the region even more ways to engage with our platform through these new offerings.” One imagines him pausing for effect, perhaps glancing at a ledger or a particularly stubborn samovar.

But this triumph did not come without its share of bureaucratic ballet. Crypto.com had previously received in-principle approval to operate under a Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) license, and had acquired A.N. Allnew Investments—a Cyprus-based trading firm—after a nod from the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission. The wheels of progress turn slowly, but they do turn, especially when lubricated by regulatory paperwork and, perhaps, a touch of existential dread.

Crypto.com, ever enigmatic, did not immediately respond to CryptoMoon’s request for comment. Perhaps they were busy counting their licenses or composing a Tolstoyan novel about blockchain.

A popular strategy

Yet Crypto.com is not alone in this dance. On May 20, Kraken—another crypto leviathan—announced its own foray into regulated derivatives trading under MiFID II. Like a cunning general seeking high ground, Kraken relied on its Cyprus-based entity Payward Europe Digital Solutions to offer these derivatives. This move followed Kraken’s acquisition of NinjaTrader, which sounds less like a financial platform and more like a character from a Dostoevsky fever dream. Their revenue soared 19% year-on-year to $471.7 million—a sum that would make even Pierre Bezukhov raise an eyebrow.

Crypto derivatives are all the rage

Elsewhere on this windswept plain, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong mused about further acquisitions after snapping up Deribit, one of the world’s largest crypto derivatives platforms. Gemini too has received regulatory approval to expand its crypto derivatives trading across Europe, while Synthetix plots to re-acquire Derive, presumably after consulting an oracle or two.

Crypto.com itself has been no stranger to acquisitions—Fintek Securities, Charterprime, Orion Principals, and Watchdog Capital have all been swept into its ever-growing empire. One wonders if there is a ledger somewhere in St. Petersburg recording these conquests with quill and ink—or perhaps just an Excel spreadsheet with too many tabs.

And so, as the crypto titans jostle for position beneath the indifferent gaze of regulators and investors alike, one thing is certain: in this new era of digital finance, only those who adapt—and perhaps acquire a Cyprus-based entity or two—will survive. The rest will be left pondering their fate by candlelight, dreaming of licenses yet to come. 🚀💸

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2025-05-21 12:36