Once Coinbase has a MiCA licence in Ireland, it will be able to offer its crypto services in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and other EU countries.
Coinbase, the Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange, has reportedly chosen Dublin as its main EU regulatory hub as it aims to expand in Europe amid growing scrutiny in the US.
The company has submitted its application for a licence under the EU’s new Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation, according to CNBC, with the Central Bank of Ireland.
MiCA, which was approved by EU lawmakers in April as a landmark piece of legislation for governing and safeguarding the crypto industry, is set to come into force by December 2024.
“Delighted to announce today that we have chosen to apply for our EU MiCA license in Ireland,” Daniel Seifert, vice-president and regional managing director of EMEA at Coinbase, wrote in a LinkedIn post.
“The regulatory clarity MiCA provides to the industry is hugely welcome and shows that the region is recognising the economic potential that emerging technology can provide.”
Coinbase employs about 100 people in Ireland and has had an office in Dublin since 2018. It secured regulatory approval to operate as a virtual asset service provider in Ireland last December, weeks after it announced Cormac Dinan as country leader for Ireland.
Earlier this year, it updated its subscription service – called Coinbase One – and expanded access to Ireland, eyeing a European expansion.
According to CNBC, once Coinbase’s application is approved by the EU, it will have a universal “MiCA licence” in Ireland, which it can then use to “passport” its services into Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and other EU countries.
“As soon as MiCA was passed into law, and even before that, we’ve been considering a number of member states. It was a long decision making process and we’ve been very impressed with the engagement from Ireland throughout,” Coinbase VP of International Nana Murugesan told CNBC.
“It was really important for us to choose a member state that is not only a sophisticated regulator with significant experience in regulating financial services, but also recognises the importance of a globally integrated business model, the way we are structured as a company, and also the potential of this innovative new technology.”
This comes in the backdrop of an ongoing legal battle between Coinbase and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in recent months.
In early June, the SEC sued the crypto exchange platform for allegedly operating as an “unregistered national securities exchange, broker and clearing agency”.
According to the complaint filed in a New York court, Coinbase allegedly made “billions of dollars unlawfully” by facilitating the trading of crypto asset securities since at least 2019.
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