Already active in the U.K., Ireland, and Germany, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is seeking additional licenses across Europe in an international expansion move that follows layoffs in the U.S. and fears of an impending crypto winter.
The exchange wants to set up operations in Spain, Italy, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland, said Nana Murugesan, Coinbase’s vice president of international, CNBC reported on Thursday (June 30). He added that Coinbase already hired its first employee in Switzerland.
See also: For Coinbase, Crypto Winter Is Here
As the first crypto company to go public, Coinbase, listed on Nasdaq under the ticker COIN, broke $50 on June 14, a far demise from its $342 launch price last April. Bitcoin is roughly 70% off its November 2021 high above $68,000.
Coinbase also recently announced it was laying off about 18% of its workforce, roughly 1,100 employees of its almost 5,000 full-timers. CEO Brian Armstrong pointed to a possible recession, and a need to manage the company’s burn rate as the reasons for the layoffs.
Read more: Coinbase Cuts Staff by 18% Ahead of ‘Crypto Winter’
Regardless of the layoffs, Murugesan told CNBC that Coinbase is hiring a regional manager for its European operations and will focus on hiring people to fill “mission-critical roles” like those in the areas of security and compliance.
Coinbase is also getting ready to meet the requirements of the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA), legislation intended to streamline distributed ledger technology (DLT) and virtual asset regulation while also protecting users and investors.
Related: Goldman Deals Down-and-Out Crypto Another Blow, Dropping Coinbase to ‘Sell’
Officials are expected to meet Thursday (June 30) to determine ground-breaking rules. If all goes smoothly, the expectation is that MiCA will come into force at the end of 2023 or early 2024.
Once approved, it will enable Coinbase to “passport” its services into all 27 EU member states, Minarik told CNBC.
A source involved with the talks told Reuters that three issues remained regarding MiCA — non-fungible tokens (NFTs), supervision and energy consumption.
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