European Central Bank Steps in as Banks Test Crypto Waters Ahead of Pan-EU Licensing Rules

The European Central Bank (ECB) on Wednesday announced that it was taking steps to harmonise the assessment of licensing requests. The ECB, which directly regulates top euro zone lenders such as Deutsche Bank, UniCredit and BNP Paribas, said it would examine if crypto activities were in line with a bank's risk "profile", which determines how much capital to hold.