Coinbase prepares to enter EU derivatives market
Coinbase prepares to enter EU derivatives market
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced plans to acquire a Cypriot company with a MiFID license to expand its derivatives offering in the EU.
"We have a long way to go to complete the acquisition and launch an EU MiFID-licensed business, but this is an impressive step forward in our efforts to expand access to international derivatives offerings," Coinbase said.
The initiative is currently subject to regulatory approval and is expected to be completed later in 2024.
MiFID is a directive developed by the European Union in 2017 with input from the U.K.'s exchange regulator, replacing previous guidelines. MiFID is a set of regulations and requirements that apply to asset classes such as equities, fixed income, derivatives, and currencies.
To acquire a Cypriot firm, Coinbase must meet compliance standards such as anti-money laundering (AML), know-your-customer (KYC), and global sanctions.
The exchange noted the deal is fully in line with its "Go Broad, Go Deep" strategy, which aims to create a platform of clear rules, licenses and registrations to enable international expansion.
With the launch of its EU derivatives offering, Coinbase aims to increase economic freedom for the more than 1 billion people living in Europe.
"Adding this license to our international portfolio will further support the high interest we are seeing in our derivatives offerings and help us cover approximately 75% of the global cryptocurrency market claimed by derivatives," Coinbase said in a statement.
In October, Coinbase chose Ireland as its main operational and regulatory center in the EU ahead of the European bloc's new rules on digital assets.
In December, Coinbase also received a virtual asset service provider (VASP) license in France, allowing it to offer storage and trading of cryptocurrency assets in the country.
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