Coinbase is Licensed to Operate in France

Coinbase is Licensed to Operate in France

According to information from CNBC, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has just received approval from France’s Financial Market Authority (AMF) to become a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP).

With this new license, Coinbase is authorized to provide services such as custody, buy/sell digital assets with fiat currency and manage its trading platform in the emerging cryptocurrency market growing strongly in France.

Through this, Coinbase can indirectly gain a “passport” to become a VASP in other European Union (EU) countries through the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) Bill.

Coinbase secures crypto license in France, pushing deeper in Europe amid rift with the SEC https://t.co/hvHdNVzGay

— CNBC (@CNBC) December 21, 2023

Coinbase receiving permission to operate in France through the VASP license marks an important step in their strategy to expand their global market share. This news is noteworthy, especially after just a week since they introduced spot trading for markets outside the US.

This action is not only a victory in the race to “capture the market” against Binance France, but also a protest against the internal troubles and accusations of “serious money laundering” that are affecting Binance France.

https://www.coinbase.com/

At the same time, this can be considered a measure to ensure Coinbase’s operations outside the United States. Where crypto legal issues are becoming increasingly strict. This becomes more important as the confrontation between Coinbase and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not subsided, even though Coinbase has denied the allegations.

In the context of the SEC asking Coinbase to temporarily stop trading in all cryptocurrencies (except Bitcoin) and the governments of 10 US states asking to stop staking services, Coinbase still maintains its determination. Recently, they criticized the SEC for delaying crypto regulation.

Although regulatory challenges remain, Coinbase continues to innovate with the introduction of new products “Project Diamond,” a platform for institutional investors to issue, manage, and trade debt instruments in digital form on Layer-2 Base, is an example. In early December 2023, Coinbase also introduced money transfer services through applications such as WhatsApp, iMessage, Telegram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram.