Derebit, a Futures and Options Bitcoin Exchange, will be moving its operations from the Netherlands over to Panama due to new know-your-customer regulations that are coming into effect this year. Essentially, cryptocurrency companies are being forced to acquire a ton of information on their customers to comply with these regulations, which goes against what cryptocurrencies and blockchain stand for. After all, many get involved in the space because they care about their privacy and don’t want to give out their names and other information.
Derebit speaks on the matter in a post:
“We believe that crypto markets should be freely available to most, and the new regulations would put too high barriers for the majority of traders, both – regulatory and cost-wise. The implementation of these changes would greatly affect the exchange and its customers. Therefore, we have decided to operate the Platform from Panama. The team and leadership will remain the same, with John Jansen as the CEO.”
On February 10th of this year, Derebit will become under the holdings of DRB Panama Inc., in order to operate there. That said, all hardware powering the company will be moved to London instead. Of course, this doesn’t change the fact that United States citizens cannot take advantage of the exchange, which is unfortunate for people living over there.
