Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp has hired Robert Zagotta, chief commercial officer of Kraken, to be the first CEO of its business in the United States. In an announcement today, Bitstamp said Zagotta would be coming on board to “oversee day-to-day operations” and accelerate the exchange’s growth in the country. He was with crypto exchange Kraken for more than three years and also worked as a senior managing director with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group. “The U.S. has a unique regulatory landscape and a huge potential upside in the digital asset industry,” said Bitstamp Global CEO Julian Sawyer. “By appointing a regional …

One of the oldest exchanges in the crypto space recently announced that it would be ramping up efforts to reach more users in the United States. In an announcement from Bitstamp today, the crypto exchange said it would be launching a marketing campaign in the U.S. aimed at educating retail investors about crypto following significant growth in the first quarter of 2021. As part of these efforts, Bitstamp said it planned to triple the number of people in its U.S. team and grow its customer support team by 50% in 2021. Bitstamp CEO Julian Sawyer told Cointelegraph said the firm …

One of the smallest countries in Europe is aiming to be comparatively progressive in its adoption of blockchain and cryptocurrencies, according to the nation's leadership. Speaking in a prerecorded message to attendees of the Luxembourg Blockchain Week conference, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said the country is planning to "keep looking forward" and "keep taking risks" when it comes to innovative technology like blockchain. Bettel described blockchain as mainly about "cryptocurrencies and hype," jokingly saying he could create a nonfungible token, or NFT, of his scarves and "make a lot of money in a very short time." "My government's goal is …

Cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp has hired Stephen Bearpark, a former finance director at tech giant Amazon, as its chief financial officer. In an announcement on Wednesday, Bitstamp said it would be appointing Bearpark to the executive position where he will be responsible for overseeing the financial growth of the exchange. Bearpark worked at Amazon’s EU Transportation division in Luxembourg for more than three years and was a finance director at financial services company Barclays until 2008. “By bringing Stephen onboard, Bitstamp is continuing to bring in the best talent from the biggest names in tech to help us deliver new value …

Crypto exchange platform Bitstamp is reportedly demanding additional Know Your Customer compliance steps for Dutch-based users. According to a notice sent to Twitter user “Bitcoin Marcus,” — a Bitstamp user — the platform says account holders in the Netherlands have until the end of January to provide additional verification documents or risk their accounts being suspended. Today @Bitstamp has gone even further than the law requires. They now want me to: - show them how much I earn - show them where I got my #bitcoin from - proof of funds Seriously!! WTF!! And I can’t withdraw and leave so …

Digital asset exchange Bitstamp has reportedly banned Netherlands-based users from withdrawing crypto to external wallets without first verifying they own the receiving address. According to a letter authored by Bitstamp that was shared on Twitter by user “Bitcoin Marcus,” Bitstamp’s users in Holland must now submit third-party addresses alongside photographic evidence they own the wallet for whitelisting before withdrawals will be processed. “Whitelisting is a security feature which was already available at Bitstamp, but now it has become obligatory for all customers affected by the new regulation in the Netherlands,” the letter stated. Yes, this is real. People in the …

Kraken, a San Francisco-based digital currency exchange, has added a proven crypto industry leader to its executive team, underscoring the firm’s continued expansion this year. In an official blog post, Kraken announced Tuesday that Miha Grčar has joined the firm as head of business development. The post reads: “For the better part of the last decade, Miha has helped Bitstamp gain recognition as a licensed financial institution in Europe, experience that will prove integral as he helps Kraken build critical banking relationships and forge new partnerships with essential stakeholders.” Before joining Kraken, Grčar spent almost eight years at Bitstamp, where …

Bitstamp, one of the world’s oldest and largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is replacing its CEO for the first time. Nejc Kodrič, the firm’s CEO who co-founded Bitstamp back in 2011, is stepping down from his position. He will be moving into a new advisory role on the company’s board of directors, Bitstamp executives told Cointelegraph on Oct. 22. Julian Sawyer, who currently serves as the managing director of the United Kingdom and Europe at major global crypto exchange Gemini, will replace Kodrič, becoming the second CEO in Bitstamp’s history. The replacement is purportedly a response to the dynamic growth of the …

The New York Department of Financial Services, or NYDFS, has released a lengthy report analyzing the impact of July’s high-profile Twitter hack, which resulted in the theft of over $118,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC). Far beyond the immediate material impact, the NYDFS states that the incident exposed deep cybersecurity weaknesses of a publicly-traded social media company valued at $37 billion and counting over 330 million active monthly users. The discovery has serious consequences in light of the platform’s ever-expanding influence on both financial markets and the political sphere. Two key sections of the NYFDS report, published on Oct. 14, tackle …

Digital asset exchange Bitstamp has beefed up its insurance measures to combat the inherent uncertainties associated with the crypto space. "The policy covers an array of crime-related cases, such as employee theft, loss while the assets are stored at any premises, loss in transit, loss caused by computer fraud or funds transfer fraud, and loss related to legal fees and expenses," an Oct. 15 statement from Bitstamp detailed with regard to the firm's updated insurance measures. Cryptocurrency offers added freedom when compared to traditional finance, allowing users to transfer the assets they own with greater ease and self-sovereign control. Such …

The recent crypto market slump has driven massive trade volumes on centralized exchanges, but peer-to-peer (P2P) trading platforms actually saw a sharp decline in activity. Latin-America was the only region to buck the trend. The top region for P2P trade, the United States, posted a 42% slump in peer-to-peer volume this week — plummeting from $23.4 million to nearly $13.6 million. Sub-Saharan African has been the second-largest region for P2P trade after North America for much of 2020. It saw P2P volume fall 32%, from roughly $12.9 million to $8.7 million — driven by a 38% crash in Nigerian activity. …

Bitstamp, one of the world’s oldest and largest cryptocurrency exchanges, is relocating its European clients from the United Kingdom. Bitstamp is now migrating the accounts of its customers in the U.K. to Bitstamp Europe SA, a business entity based in Luxembourg. An executive at the exchange confirmed the news to Cointelegraph on Aug. 25. Vasja Zupan, COO of Bitstamp, told Cointelegraph that Bitstamp is migrating European clients from its Bitstamp Ltd. entity to the Luxembourg-based entity. According to the executive, Bitstamp has been planning to migrate the clients for months. Zupan highlighted that the account migration “does not involve any …