Financial terms for the acquisition were not disclosed.

Spanish cryptocurrency exchange Bit2Me said it bought blockchain and crypto-focused software development company Dekalabs for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition will enhance Bit2Me’s position in helping companies and institutions build tools on cryptocurrency and blockchain protocols such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, the firm said in a Monday email.

Bit2Me did not say how much it paid for the company and had not responded to CoinDesk’s request for details by press time.

Bit2Me, the first firm to be licensed by the Bank of Spain as a provider of crypto services, said in July that it had reached agreements on three acquisitions, including a 90% stake in a Latin American exchange and the purchase of a fintech company and software developer, the identifies of which were not disclosed.

CEO Leif Ferreira said at the time that the company planned to add 250 employees, despite the onset of challenging conditions in the crypto industry. “In a context of many layoffs, now is the time to hold and build,” he said.. “Crypto is not going to stop, no matter how much prices have fallen.”

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Following the acquisition of a majority stake in Fluyez, the company is looking for purchasing opportunities in Chile, Colombia and Uruguay.

Bit2Me, the largest Spanish crypto exchange, acquired a majority stake in the Peruvian peer Fluyez, the company announced Thursday.

​​The purchase of the 85% stake was for more than 1 million euros ($1.022 million), Bit2Me COO Andrei Manuel told CoinDesk, without disclosing an exact figure. Fluyez, operational as of March 2021, will continue being led by Luis Eduardo Berrospi, co-founder and CEO of the company.

The Peruvian company, which will not change its name after being acquired, plans to grow from 10,000 users to 100,000 in 12 months, Manuel said.

In parallel, Bit2Me is in negotiations to acquire an exchange in Chile, Manuel said, adding that the company is also eyeing exchanges in Latin American countries such as Colombia and Uruguay. Targets should range between $1 million and $20 million, he added.

“We are looking for companies that are fully compliant, have users, a wallet where you can exchange cryptocurrencies and fiat, and a solid team,” Manuel said.

Bit2Me has already signed two memorandums of understanding to buy a fintech company and a software developer based in Spain during the second half of 2022, Bit2Me CEO Leif Ferreira told CoinDesk last week. It also plans to add 250 employees during the next 12 months, doubling its headcount, he added.

The company will fund acquisitions with cash on hand, including the 20 million euros it raised through an initial coin offering in 2021, Ferreira told CoinDesk, adding that the company does not rule out the entry of a strategic investor.

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The cryptocurrency exchange is also registered with regulators in Austria, France, Italy and Sweden.

Austrian cryptocurrency exchange Bitpanda is expanding to Spain, after registering as a virtual currency exchange and digital asset custody service provider in the country.

The company was officially entered into the Bank of Spain’s registry for crypto firms on June 16, according to the bank’s official website, and Bitpanda announced the news on Tuesday.

Bank of Spain opened its registry for crypto service providers back in October 2021, and Spanish crypto exchange Bit2Me became the first company to be added to the registry in February this year.

The European Union (EU) is planning to set up a license that would allow crypto firms regulated in one EU country to operate in others under its upcoming Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) bill. The MiCA framework is in the final stage of the EU’s legislative process.

But Bipanda, which had a valuation of around $4.1 billion as of August 2021, is not waiting around for the EU license to kick in, successfully registering in virtual asset service provider registries in both Italy and Sweden earlier this year. It registered with French securities regulator Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) in 2020.

The firm’s regulatory efforts have not come without incident. In February, Bitpanda announced the acquisition of U.K. crypto custody platform Trustology. On the same day the announcement was made, the U.K. financial conduct authority (FCA) warned it was watching the acquisition closely. At the time of the announcement, Trustology was registered under the FCA’s Money Laundering Regulations (MLR) registry, but according to the FCA that was not enough.

“The MLRs do not include any provisions that allow the FCA to assess the fitness and propriety of beneficial owners or changes in control before a transaction is completed,” the FCA said in its February statement.

Bitpanda later told Bloomberg the FCA’s statement was expected, and that it has a goodrapport with the regulator.

In a Monday announcement, the firm said it remains committed to achieving regulatory status in countries, particularly in light of the recent turbulence in crypto markets. Crypto markets have recorded at least $7 billion in liquidations as of Monday, while over the weekend the price of bitcoin (BTC) fell below $20,000 for the first time since December 2020.

“As recent market developments have shown, where you buy your digital assets matters and we are going to always be prioritizing the safety of our community, as we are working relentlessly to build the best and the safest investment platform in Europe and beyond,” Bitpanda co-founder and co-CEO Eric Demuth said in a press statement.

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