Publicly listed crypto exchange Coinbase has received regulatory approval in Italy for offering its services to people. The company stated that they were committed to providing its entire product suite to its clients all over Europe.
Italy approval
The announcement from the Nasdaq-listed exchange came on Monday about securing regulatory approval for offering its crypto services to Italian citizens. Nana Murugesan, the vice president of the company’s International and Business Development, said that they had managed to achieve a very important milestone.
The executive stated that the Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM) had implemented some new requirements, which made it mandatory for all crypto companies to meet specific criteria. This was applicable to companies that are offering crypto custody, trading, or any other services in Italy.
Murugesan stated that the crypto exchange is serving clients in almost 40 countries in Europe and they have established dedicated hubs in Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom. The vice president added that they were working on strengthening their presence all over Europe. Therefore, in order to comply with local regulations, they have applied for licenses and registrations in multiple jurisdictions throughout Europe.
Expansion
Murugesan asserted that in every market, Coinbase aims to expand its customer base and it can only do so when it is able to launch its suite of institutional, retail as well as ecosystem products. The expansion plan for Europe had been announced by the Coinbase exchange in the previous month.
At that time, Murugesan had disclosed that the company was planning on expanding its services to the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and France. However, it should be noted that the publicly listed crypto exchange is certainly not the first one to have obtained regulatory approval to operate in Italy.
Binance, its primary rival, also obtained regulatory approval in May to offer crypto products in the country.
Trouble for Coinbase
Likewise, Binance is also spreading its wings to other European jurisdictions, which include Spain and the Netherlands. It has already received approval in the former and the registration is in process in the latter.
Moreover, the new zero-fee model that Binance has introduced is also a threat to Coinbase. The latter crypto exchange receives a lot of criticism for its high trading fees and this may help its competitor in attracting the users it is after.
Apart from that, the downturn in the crypto market has also had a major impact on Coinbase. Not only has the company seen its stock price plunge, but its trading volumes have also taken a big hit. The company reported a net loss in the first quarter of the year and things do not look good in the future either.
Already, the crypto exchange has let go off its staff in order to control costs, while Binance is actually hiring more staff, and there are also rumors that it could also be facing liquidity issues. With a number of crypto companies going bankrupt of late, this is definitely not a good sign for Coinbase.
