Valereum buys Gibraltar Stock Exchange to create crypto hub

LONDON (Reuters) - Blockchain company Valereum said on Friday it would buy 90% of the Gibraltar Stock Exchange (GSX) to create the world's first bourse where shares and cryptoassets can be traded.

Valereum, listed on London's Aquis Exchange, said it will need approval from Gibraltar regulators to allow listed instruments on the GSX access to a regulated pool of crypto capital.

It gave no price for the transaction.

"The GSX will be the world's first exchange to create a seamless and fully regulated bridge that links the fiat and crypto markets," Valereum said in a statement.

"This will give listed instruments on the GSX access to a regulated pool of crypto capital that is not available anywhere else, and it will give crypto currency holders the ability to have a direct, verifiable holding in fiat securities."

Valereum announced last November it had signed an option to acquire up to 80% of GSX, subject to approval from the Gibraltar Financial Services Commission. Friday's announcement increases the holding to 90%.

Valereum acquired Gibraltar fund and trusts services group Juno in December to underpin the bridge between crypto and fiat currencies.

(Reporting by Huw Jones, Editing by Louise Heavens)