Crypto.com, Trade Republic register for crypto services in Italy

MILAN (Reuters) -Singapore-based Crypto.com and German investment platform Trade Republic on Tuesday said they had registered as cryptocurrency operators in Italy, following in the tracks of rivals such as Binance and Coinbase.

In an effort to protect savers, Italy's economy ministry in February created a special registry with brokerage regulator Organismo degli Agenti e dei Mediatori (OAM) to list all cryptocurrency operators with a stable presence in the country provided they met certain requirements.

Financial watchdogs across the world are grappling with how to regulate the crypto market, for which rules are patchy. Key issues on regulators' agendas include consumer protection, financial stability threats and illicit usage of digital coins.

"We are excited to receive this registration in Italy and view it as a major step forward for Crypto.com," said Kris Marszalek, co-founder and chief executive officer of Crypto.com, which has 50 million users worldwide.

"We are committed to building lasting growth in the region and will continue working with regulators," he said.

Crypto.com's registration in Italy follows its entrance into the Greek market.

Trade Republic recently launched crypto services in Spain.

Cleared by Italy's market regulator Consob, it also offers investments in shares, derivatives and exchange-traded funds.

The Italian arm of Binance, one of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, registered in Italy in May.

On Monday, U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase Global said it had met the requirements to list on the OAM registry to serve customers in Italy.

OAM oversees financial agents and credit brokers in Italy and implements anti-money laundering controls.

(Reporting by Valentina Za, Elvira Pollina and Federico Maccioni; editing by Bernadette Baum and Paul Simao)