Coinbase Calls EU Crypto Rules “Exciting” And is Set to Expand in Europe

Leading US-based and Nasdaq listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is set to secure licenses across the pond as it plans to expands into at least four countries in Europe.

Announced on the company’s blog, the crypto platform said the markets of France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands are the next priorities. Coinbase already has a presence in Germany, the UK and Ireland. The post explained:

“As part of our recently announced two-pronged growth strategy, we are driving a concerted effort to strengthen our presence in Europe.

We’re already on the ground in the UK, Ireland and Germany. Additionally, we are in the process of expanding in France, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands. In all of these markets, our goal is to launch the Coinbase suite of retail, institutional, and developer products.”

Despite industry protests over the breach of privacy and stiffling of industry innovation,the European Union on Wednesday finally agreed on landmark anti-money laundering rules for crypto transactions. The EU passed a new agreement known as the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCA) thereby establishing a crypto regulation rulebook for all countries within its jurisdiction.

While most of the crypto community, including cryptocurrency trading platforms, are concerned about MiCA in Europe, Coinbase shares its excitement stating:

“The EU reached a landmark agreement on the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, “MiCA”, delivering the most comprehensive regulatory framework in the world and a single rule-book across 27 countries. This will provide important legal and regulatory certainty to the market, and raise standards across the industry. This is exciting — a harmonized single set of rules for the entire EU will enable us to invest, accelerate, and scale our growth efforts across the entire bloc.”

The exchange added:

“Furthermore, the EU took a major step forward by reaching a sensible deal for implementation of the Travel Rule to tackle financial crimes and the transfer of illicit funds.”

While not yet mandatory in the country, Coinbase las week also implemented tight KYC rules in the Netherlands.