Coinbase Breaks into UK Crypto Market with VASP License

Coinbase, a leading U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange, has secured approval to offer digital asset services in the UK. The company received a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license from British regulators, enabling it to expand its services to both institutional and retail clients in the region.
This approval marks a significant milestone for Coinbase, as it allows the company to broaden its largely U.S.-centric user base and potentially increase its revenue. The exchange aims to onboard one billion people to crypto globally, and this registration in the UK is a critical step in achieving that goal.
Coinbase Payments, a subsidiary of Coinbase, has been offering e-money services in the UK since 2018. However, until now, the company was unable to provide crypto products and services to users in the region. The newly issued VASP license enables Coinbase to launch crypto products and engage with various marketing channels across the UK.
Coinbase's approval comes less than a year after regulators settled an investigation into its British subsidiary, Coinbase Payments. The investigation examined the firm for "unintentional breaches" of a voluntary agreement it had entered into with British regulators in late 2020.
With the new VASP registration, Coinbase becomes the largest registered digital assets player in the UK. The UK has also become Coinbase's second-largest market, according to the company. Coinbase had roughly eight million monthly transacting users in the U.S. as of late last year, making it the digital asset platform's largest market.
Coinbase has made several efforts to expand its business beyond the U.S. and into Europe in recent years. The company opened an office in Dublin in 2018 and began serving customers in Germany just two years later. Additionally, Coinbase reportedly explored purchasing FTX Europe to accelerate its expansion across the continent following the latter exchange's collapse in late 2022. However, those talks did not reach a late stage.

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