Coinbase is looking for licenses within several nations in Europe as a strategy for its aggressive extension in the territory.
Coinbase in EU
The exchange already maintains an active presence in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Germany but wants to establish operations in Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, as per Nana Murugesan, Coinbase’s VP of International. Coinbase recently employed its foremost employee in Switzerland, he stated.
The American cryptocurrency mogul seeks to expand into international markets to steer growth amidst fears of an impending ‘crypto winter.’ Coinbase declared that it would downsize 18% of its workforce in early June, whilst other companies, including BlockFi and Gemini, have retraced the former’s steps amidst a plummet in cryptocurrency rates.
Still, Murugesan stated that Coinbase was planning to hire a regional manager to administer its European operations. He noted that the company prioritised ‘mission-critical roles’ in fields like security and compliance after a tenure of rapid maturity.
Murugesan, who joined Coinbase in January 2022, stated that when they entered the United Kingdom and Europe, it was the period of the last big bear market in 2015-2016.
He went on to add that when one fast forwards to 2017-2018, the United Kingdom was presently a considerable part of their business, as was Europe. He stated that the firm entered those markets and placed risky bets at a challenging time. However, it paid off well, he indicated.
Coinbase is discoursing to receive approval for anti-money laundering regulations in numerous nations, including France, stated Katherine Minarik, the firm’s VP of Legal.
The firm was gearing up for MiCA, or Markets in Cryptocurrency-Assets, a ground-breaking piece of legislation from the European Union that seeks to complement cryptocurrency regulation throughout the bloc.
Officials from the European Council and Parliament are due to gather on 1st July to accomplish an agreement on the regulations. If all were to go seamlessly, the estimate is that MiCA will manifest into reality by 2024.
Minarik stated that the exchange would be permitted to pass its services into all 27 European Union member states once authenticated.