AMLD5 has increased interest in crypto assets among institutional investors in EU

   According to the director of the Stuttgart Stock Exchange's Crypt Currency Division, the new EU anti-money laundering regulation has increased interest in crypto assets among institutional investors.

In a speech at the CryptoCompare conference in London on Tuesday, Ulli Spankowski, director of digital technology at Stuttgart Stock Exchange, admitted that he was surprised by the positive effect that the Fifth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD5) has had on the interest of traditional financial institutions in cryptographic currencies.

"I didn't really think anything like this would happen because banks and other financial institutions can already store and trade crypt currencies. But since the law came into force earlier this year, we've seen a lot of interest from traditional market players," Spankowski said.

The AMLD5 directive requires that cryptographic companies based in EU member states register with local regulatory authorities, implement KYC rules for their clients and store information about the sources of their funds.

Some regional cryptographic firms have announced plans to leave the EU soon after the directive came into force. For example, the Deribit Cryptographic Derivatives Exchange "moved" from the Netherlands to Panama because of the new rules, and shortly afterwards the non-castaodian KyberSwap Exchange changed its jurisdiction from Malta to the British Virgin Islands.

In addition, the Stuttgart Stock Exchange has added several cryptographic financial products to its main trading platform, and last September it launched a regulated platform for trading BSDEX crypto assets.

"Crypt currency is now in the legal field, and since the regulator allows companies associated with cryptographic assets to obtain a license, it means that their activities are legal," Spankowski said.

With 120 institutional clients and an "open relationship" with the main German financial regulator, BSDEX can now act as a reliable "gateway" to the digital asset class.

"We could be a guide for the cryptovoltaic industry in Europe, because the traditional financial system is already linked to us on a European scale," Spankowski said. "We think that this will be the most successful development for us".