Fintech company Ripple has filed an application with the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to register as a cryptocurrency company.
As part of its regional expansion, Ripple reportedly also plans to obtain a payments license in Ireland.
The application for registration with the financial regulator has come after the company's partial victory in a lawsuit before the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The US regulator filed a complaint against the company back in December 2020 in which it accused Ripple of distributing unregistered securities worth approximately $1.3 billion in the form of native tokens on the platform.
Access more than 50 of the world's financial markets directly from your EXANTE account – including NASDAQ, London Stock Exchange and Tokyo Stock Exchange
Last July 13, Judge Analisa Torres ruled that selling XRP directly to institutional investors violated SEC rules, but not offerings to retail investors on exchanges.
According to Ripple's lawyer John Deaton, the appeal will not be a serious setback for the company, as it will take up to two years for the lower court to reach a verdict.