Revolut gains Gibraltar permission for crypto order handling, custody and staking

Revolut Global Digital Assets Limited has received a Gibraltar distributed-ledger-technology provider permission, adding a new regulated entity to the group’s international crypto plans. Revolut announced the authorisation on 19 October. Gibraltar’s government separately confirmed that residents can again open accounts through the group’s electronic-money and payments app.[1][2]

The new entity adds capacity to a large distribution network

Revolut reports more than 80 million retail customers and over 16 million crypto users worldwide. Those group figures show the distribution opportunity available to a new operating subsidiary. The company has not broken out adoption at the Gibraltar entity or named a complete country rollout.[1]

The legal counterparty connects that distribution to a particular service. A familiar app can contain products supplied by different group companies, each with its own permissions and customer terms. The Gibraltar DLT permission is for the named digital-asset subsidiary; it is not a banking licence or an announced universal migration of existing Revolut crypto accounts.[1][2]

Gibraltar supervises the operating controls

The GFSC’s ten DLT principles cover fitness and propriety, customer communications, resources, risk management, client assets, governance, cybersecurity, financial crime, resilience and market integrity. They establish expectations for how a provider runs the business, including the handling of assets and continuity of service.[3]

Market integrity became the tenth principle in 2022, accompanied by supervisory guidance. It extends the framework into the conduct of the markets in which providers participate, alongside custody and operational safeguards.[4]

For Revolut’s permitted activities, the control work differs by function. Order transmission and execution require an identifiable instruction and execution process. Custody requires accurate asset records and control over holdings. Staking terms determine participation, rewards and restrictions. Country-specific customer terms will show how those functions are combined in the product.[2][3]

Local onboarding is the immediate customer change

GBC’s report and the government announcement confirm that Gibraltar residents can now open the app. The wider crypto strategy has gained an authorised operating base; its next commercial milestones are the markets served, services launched and terms under which customers use them.[5][2][1]

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