RIV-Digital, the Italian subsidiary of Luxembourg and Dubai RIV Capital Group, an investment holding that Roberto Rivera founded, received from Italian stock market authority Consob and Banca d’Italia the authorization to operate as Crypto-Asset Service Provider (CASP) that allow to be part of ESMA record (press release – file 24030, 10 June 2026).
Studio Legale LX20 Law Firm assisted RIV-Digital that can now provide in Italy services involving the exchange of crypto-assets for funds, crypto-assets for other crypto-assets, and the placement of crypto-assets. Any extension of operations to other EU Member States may take place in accordance with the notification procedures of MiCAR (Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation –EU rule 2023/1114).
In Italy, RIV Digital already received the authorization to operate as a VASP after having joined the Register of Virtual Currency Service Providers of the Organisation of Agents and Brokers (OAM) that includes providers of exchange, custody and conversion to or from fiat currencies.
In 2025, RIV Digital already started working for complying with MiCAR (see here a previous post by BeBeez). In 2024, the firm acquired WeChain, a provider of educational services for the blockchain and DeFi sector, from the founder Davide Cortese (see here a previous post by BeBeez).
Alvise Di Stefano, a former lawyer and previous co-founder of Italy’s J-Invest and the ceo of RIV Digital, said: “This authorisation ends a preliminary investigation of Consob and the Bank of Italy. The company will now proceed to launch the authorised services, in compliance with the organisational, prudential and investor protection safeguards set out in the MiCAR Regulation and the relevant national implementing legislation”.
Roberto Rivera, RIV Capital founder, added: “The authorisation we obtained in Italy is a significant milestone for the group. Regulated operations within the European Union form a central component of our strategy which fits around separate entities that comply with their respective regulatory frameworks”.
RIV Capital’s stated aim is to create a scalable, regulated bridge between institutional and Decentralised Finance (DeFi), while keeping standards of transparency and verifiability that are compatible with professional investors. This development is part of the broader vision that Rivera outlined in a video interview with BeBeez in October 2025 (see here a previous post by BeBeez): “Wealth managers can no longer limit themselves to simply managing capital: they must design the entire system through which they hold, move, track, regulate and grow assets, as the sector is evolving towards a model based on infrastructure rather than mere intermediation”. See here the episodes of Digital Finance Files by RIV.
