Plasma A blockchain company building a network focused on stablecoins, announced a major expansion into Europe to offer regulated payments services.
The firm said on Thursday that it had acquired a licensed Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) entity in Italy, allowing it to legally handle crypto transactions and custody assets in the region. As part of its EU expansion, the company is opening a new office in Amsterdam, Netherlands, and has appointed a compliance director and money laundering reporting officer.
The Italian entity was previously known as GBTC Italia and will be known as Plasma Italia SrL after the acquisition, while the new Dutch entity will be Plasma Nederland BV, a spokesperson told CoinDesk.
“The Netherlands is one of the most established payments centers in Europe,” Adam Jacobs, head of global payments at Plasma, said in a statement. “The growth of our team and regulatory presence here gives us a path to owning a greater number of payments, from stablecoin settlement to permissioned financial infrastructure.”
The company also plans to apply for Crypto Asset Service Provider (CASP) status under the new EU MiCA regulation and obtain an Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license. These measures would allow Plasma to exchange assets, issue cards and keep customer funds under regulatory safeguards.
“By having control of a fully licensed payments stack, we can offer greater reliability and access to merchants, individuals and institutions,” Jacobs added.
Plasma has emerged as a fast-growing blockchain lane designed for global payments with stablecoins, a potentially huge market as cryptocurrencies become increasingly popular for cross-border money movement. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency with prices pegged to fiat money like the US dollar, and could offer faster and cheaper settlements compared to traditional payment avenues, proponents say. Stablecoins, currently a $300 billion asset class, could reach $4 trillion by the end of the decade as they become increasingly integrated into the global banking and financial network, according to a Citibank report last month.
The Plasma chain attracted $7 billion in stablecoin deposits since its public launch just a month ago, becoming the fifth-largest blockchain by stablecoin supply.
Plasma said it intends to use these licenses to power its stablecoin-based neobank called Plasma One. By owning the entire compliance package, the firm said it can offer faster settlements, lower fees and fewer intermediaries, while keeping client funds segregated and protected under EU law.
“Our goal is to set a high standard for blockchain-native stablecoin infrastructure by securing the right licenses and owning the end-to-end regulated stack,” said Jacob Wittman, general counsel at Plasma in a statement.
UPDATE (October 23, 2025, 14:37 UTC): Add the names of the new entities.
