Cryptocurrency liquidity provider B2C2 announced on Thursday that its subsidiary, B2C2 OTC, has received a regulatory license from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to deal in contracts for difference (CFDs).

The deal marks the first occasion that a firm has been given authorization by the British regulator to provide cryptocurrency-backed CFDs. That isn’t to say that cryptocurrency CFDs haven’t been available until now. To the contrary, many firms have been offering the derivative products for some time.

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In most cases, however, the brokers offering those products have done so with an offshore license or no regulatory authorization at all. As is their want, most of those brokers have also been offering insanely high leverage on various cryptocurrencies.

Leverage cap

That’s something brokers won’t be able to do. The product intervention measures introduced by the European Securities and Markets Authority in August of last year put a leverage cap of 2:1 on cryptocurrency CFDs.

Nonetheless, along with an increasing demand for equities, traders do want access to the cryptocurrency market.

Thus, the news that B2C2 has received a license from a respected regulator will likely be positive for any firm using the liquidity provider’s services.

“We are excited to have received authorisation from the FCA to introduce a cryptocurrency CFD product,” said Max Boonen, Founder and CEO of B2C2. “Eligible counterparties and professional clients can now gain derivative exposure to the cryptocurrency markets, benefiting from the competitive pricing and liquidity they’re accustomed to receiving from B2C2 while avoiding the risks associated with crypto custody.”