Coinbase eyes UK expansion amid ‘sensible regulations’
Coinbase is looking to grow its offering in the UK and Europe, amid regulatory pressure in its home market of the US.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong has tweeted about a recent meeting with Andrew Griffith, the Economic Secretary and City Minister of the United Kingdom. Armstrong’s tweets suggested that crypto firms will soon have a clear rulebook for operating in the UK and also underlined the firm’s intentions for international growth as an “existential priority”.
Armstrong added that the meeting focused on sensible regulations to protect consumers and support economic growth in the crypto market. He stated that Europe is already several steps further down the road, with its Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation set to come into force later this year.
“In short, things are happening in Europe that are edging the region ahead and, when it comes to embracing the digital economy, the region is preparing for a seismic change in how it uses and thinks about money,” Coinbase wrote in a blog post.
Armstrong, however, expressed frustration with some banks in the UK that have suspended offering their services to crypto companies. He argued that these banking institutions should focus solely on proper fraud control measures instead of imposing a blanket ban on all crypto transactions. He added that such actions hinder the real-world use cases that the crypto community is striving for.
Coinbase was reportedly planning to launch a new platform overseas as part of an aggressive expansion outside the United States. According to a Bloomberg report, the US crypto giant is already in conversation with international clients, investment firms and market makers about those plans.
However, the nature of Coinbase’s overseas operations, or where it would be located, remains unclear. Alongside its US authorization, Coinbase also holds licenses from Italy, the Netherlands, Ireland and Germany, as well as the UK Financial Conduct Authority. Additional registrations or license applications are in progress in several major markets, in compliance with local regulations.
The American exchange is looking to international markets to drive growth amid fears of a looming clampdown on crypto businesses in the US. Coinbase is also facing some banking troubles after it revealed that about $240 million in corporate cash balance is stuck with the New York-based lender Signature Bank.
That said, Coinbase could be racing offshore to keep pace with its rivals, which are gaining significant traction in territories outside the US. While Coinbase is the biggest crypto exchange in the United States, it’s facing intense competition from players like Binance.
