International Financial Entity License Granted For Digital Asset Custodian San Juan Mercantile Bank & Trust

The San Juan Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (SJMX) and the San Juan Mercantile Bank & Trust International Corp. (SJMBT) today announced that SJMBT has received its license to operate from the Puerto Rico Office of the Commission of Financial Institutions (OCIF).  The license authorizes SJMBT to operate as an International Financial Entity (IFE) under the banking regulations of OCIF, subject to the rules of the Bank Secrecy Act, including all applicable Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations.

Speaking on the announcement, Bo Collins, CEO of Mercantile Global Holdings, the parent of both SJMX and SJMBT, said:  "This approval is a key milestone for us, establishing an end-to-end solution for institutional customers who seek a familiar, efficient and secure way to trade digital currencies."

SJMX has created a professional-grade trading environment that provides customers with access to a variety of digital asset liquidity venues. SJMBT will be integrated with all SJMX trading platforms. Customer balances on deposit with SJMBT will in turn inform real-time trading limits at SJMX, and SJMBT will settle all trades routed through SJMBT on a real-time basis.  Customer fiat currency and digital assets will be held by regulated correspondent banking partners and approved digital asset custodians.  Diversification of assets across multiple custody partners greatly reduces the need for physical movement of digital assets, improves security, reduces cost and results in faster processing.

Nick Varelakis, President and COO of SJMBT, said: "Our approval as a regulated bank under OCIF banking regulations was a critical step in our progress to launching our trading and banking platform. We believe the infrastructure we have developed will deliver immediate benefits to our clients by offering a more secure and efficient platform for the trading and settlement of digital assets."

"International Financial Entities like SJMBT are an important part of the developing financial infrastructure in Puerto Rico, designed to support the growing digital asset industry, which is a notable component of the government's economic development plan," said Manual Laboy, Puerto Rico's Secretary of Economic Development.  "We welcome SJMBT as an innovator in this space.  Puerto Rico offers the safety and soundness of U.S. regulated financial institutions, with a strong commitment to flexibility and innovation in the future."