Iceland’s Financial Regulator Approves Blockchain-Powered E-Money Firm

The Financial Supervisory Authority (FME), Iceland’s sole financial regulator, has approved the first blockchain-powered e-money firm in the country, as the organization announced on June 14.

Reykjavik-based Monerium, backed by blockchain software company ConsenSys, has reportedly been approved by the Icelandic financial watchdog to provide fiat payment services using ethereum (ETH) blockchain, crypto media outlet CoinDesk reported June 14.

According to the report, Monerium has become the first company to operate under an electronic money framework, a major European regulatory framework that enabled the firm to offer blockchain-powered e-money services across the European Economic Area (EEA).

Monerium co-founder Jón Helgi Egilsson, a former chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Central Bank of Iceland, will reportedly announce the news at a digital currency conference in Stockholm on June 15.

According to CoinDesk, Monerium is planning to launch a blockchain-based fiat currency pegged to Icelandic krona (ISK) to enable cross-border payments in the currency without a financial middleman. The digital ISK will be reportedly operable across the European Union on the initial stage, while the firm also plans to introduce the e-currency to more countries depending on their regulatory policies in the sphere.

In January 2019, ConsenSys participated in a $2 million seed funding round for Monerium, with the company’s co-founder Andrew Keys claiming that investment in the Icelandic firm aligns with the incubator’s purpose to create “the infrastructure needed for a more decentralized and self-sovereign future.”

Recently, Cointelegraph published an interview with ConsenSys co-founder Joseph Lubin, who declared that the ethereum blockchain had scaled significantly to date.