Good things come to those who wait – and no one knows this better than Hassans’ clients Covesting.
On Friday 19th of October, a day before the company’s first birthday, they became one of the first recipients of Gibraltar’s much-coveted DLT Licences, giving them a double reason to celebrate.
It has been a long journey, for sure, but an ultimately fulfilling one.
Congratulations to @Covesting on receipt of #DLT regulatory licence from @GibFSC #ThinkGibraltar #blockchain #LeadingTheWay @TechGib @GibraltarGov https://t.co/oX07QZehGO
— Gibraltar Finance (@GibFinance) October 21, 2018
Gibraltar’s DLT Regulations came into effect on January 1st, resulting in a media frenzy and a resulting flood of applicants from all over the world.
Of course, as with Gibraltar’s other regulated industries, most notably finance and gaming, the selection process is stringent.
Gibraltar guards its hard-earned reputation on the world stage carefully, therefore DLT licences were always going to be awarded to only the very best applicants.
“Covesting has long recognised the importance of regulation as a means to improve security, streamline transactions and offer greater protection to consumers”, says CEO and founder, Dmitrij Pruglo.
“As such, we are excited and also extremely proud to be one of the very first companies to receive a DLT operator licence in Gibraltar.”
Applicants for a DLT licence in Gibraltar firstly need to meet very specific criteria and ensure that they fully adhere to the 9 principals outlined the DLT Regulations document published in January 2018.
Candidates are also mentored by various stakeholders and experts, including the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission, who ultimately issue the licence. Simultaneously, as clients, Covesting were regularly advised by the Hassans FinTech team.
This team, the largest such team within the jurisdiction, is comprised of experienced Gibraltar FinTech experts and includes several top-ranked lawyers (as rated by Chambers & Partners and the Legal 500).
Covesting committed themselves to the process, and to Gibraltar, very early on. In February Covesting was represented at GibFin by CEO Dmitrij Pruglo and CCO Kurt Carlsson and, on the very same day, the company set up shop in Gibraltar’s stunning World Trade Center.
“We chose Gibraltar for our headquarters”, said Dmitrij, “because it is the leading crypto jurisdiction in Europe, with cutting-edge infrastructure, a nimble, business-friendly government and no shortage of talented and enterprising people to work with.”
With their new headquarters acquired, and their DLT Licence pending, Covesting began to spread the good word. In June, CEO Dmitrij Pruglo joined Hassans’ partner and FinTech Team co-chair Anthony Provasoli for a Fireside Chat event hosted by Startup Grind Gibraltar at the WTC. Dmitrij joined us again in July as a guest speaker at the Token Market Summit, where he also met the Hon. Albert Isola MP, Minister for Commerce.
Then, in August, the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission announced that it had granted “in-principle” approvals to the first batch of DLT applicants, meaning they could now finally move ahead to the final phase of the process.
As the licence date loomed ever-nearer all those involved found ourselves quizzed daily by hordes of “hodlers” on social media, eager investors and fans of the brand who had seen Covesting’s promise early on and who knew all too well that the final announcement would reap great rewards…
Congratulations to all! Check out the organic and fundamentally driven market response to our recent news! #DLT #Covesting pic.twitter.com/xkPZG5wr1A
— COVESTING (@covesting) October 19, 2018
“The DLT licence application process is a demanding one”, says Dmitrij, “but was an ultimately edifying and rewarding experience for us and we are hugely grateful to the Hassans’ FinTech team for all their help and guidance in this matter.”
By being awarded a DLT licence in Gibraltar, Covesting has proven itself to be a significant and customer-focussed DLT operator, scoring top marks across the board in terms of honesty, integrity, transparency and security.
By Saturday October 20th, 2018, the first phase of Covesting’s journey was complete; from its initial ICO exactly a year before, to celebrating the provision of its licence. Now the company embarks on a whole new journey and we, at Hassans, share both the pride in their accomplishments and their excitement for the future.
And there’s even more excitement on the way, with more licences set to be granted very shortly. We can’t tell you exactly who they will be granted to just yet, all we can say is to expect more big news soon!
In the meantime, you can make certain that you’re instantly informed of the latest developments in Gibraltar’s crypto sector by following Hassans on Twitter.
Interested in applying for a Gibraltar DLT operator licence? Want to learn more about what’s involved and how the process works? Or are you just looking for the advice of legal professionals with a strong background in DLT, blockchain and crypto? Then join the ranks of other top global crypto companies like Covesting and contact the Hassans’ FinTech team today.
