The New York-based cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase has announced receiving a crypto custody license from Germany’s Financial Supervisory Authority [BaFin]. Under the new licensing regime, Coinbase will now be able to continue serving the German market.
In addition, the license of the country’s chief regulatory body would also enable the cryptocurrency exchange to serve as a custodian for other crypto offering businesses and services. According to the official press release, Coinbase has now become the first company to receive the license,
Following the development, Marcus Hughes, Coinbase’s Managing Director for Europe was quoted saying,
“Being awarded the licence is the culmination of many months of hard work from the Coinbase team, in close collaboration with the BaFin. We look forward to bringing a best-in-class crypto product offering coupled with a secure, localised experience to our German customers.”
The Bundestag, the German parliament, had passed a law in November 2019 that needed companies offering cryptocurrency custody for its citizens to apply for a crypto custody license or leave the country. As a result, the Nasdaq-listed crypto platform had applied for the license later next year.
Coinbase expansions intact as Binance faces scrutiny
The regulatory clearance from Federal Financial Supervisory Authority [BaFin] comes in the heels of after Coinbase received a green signal from Japan’s regulatory watchdog Financial Services Agency [FSA] to foray into the country’s crypto ecosystem. It is important to note that the US-based public cryptocurrency exchange has managed to expand its footprint across the world rather quickly since going public in the United States with a direct listing in April this year even as its stock has fallen significantly over the same period.
The same cannot be said for its competitor Binance which has been facing significant challenges in several countries. Over the past week, the cryptocurrency exchange has suffered a crackdown from Japan, UK, and Canada regulators regarding its operations in the respective countries.