OANDA, the CVC Capital-owned foreign exchange firm, formally launched its cryptocurrency offering in the UK. Last August it acquired Coinpass and the functionality uses its technology. It now offers access to 63 crypto trading pairs.

While OANDA CoinPass is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), it simply applies to anti-money laundering in the UK. The UK is in the process of establishing cryptocurrency regulations.

“With OANDA Crypto, we are staying true to our mission of making trading experiences smarter by bringing the reliability, security, and simplicity of our robust trading platforms into an easy-to-use app, making crypto attractive to UK traders and investors of all levels of experience,” Lucian Lauerman, Head of Digital Assets.

Other services already offered in the UK include Contract for Difference (CFD) trading, foreign exchange data and cross border payments. While today’s announcement is purely focused on trading, it will be interesting to see whether OANDA will make any moves with stablecoins for cross border payment.

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Given that CFDs are one of the riskiest investments, they have proven popular with City traders. Hence, OANDA should be one of the organizations that is more prepared to deal with cryptocurrencies, including marketing restrictions. CFDs share similarities with options but are higher risk. With options, people can buy and sell them, with the selling being the riskier side. CFD risks are similar to selling options.

CVC Capital acquired OANDA in 2019. One of OANDA’s two co-founders Dr Richard Olsen also founded Swiss crypto firm Lykke.

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