Coinbase, a major cryptocurrency exchange, has announced that it has been granted a Class F License under the Digital Asset Business Act by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA). Bermuda was one of the first countries to implement full digital asset regulation in 2018, and Coinbase has praised the BMA’s “level of rigor, transparency, compliance, and cooperation.” The company has chosen Bermuda as an international hub due to the BMA’s world-class leadership and involvement in global regulation.
Coinbase is set to launch its offshore derivatives exchange in Bermuda by the end of this month, according to reports from Fortune. In addition to its expansion in Bermuda, Coinbase has also provided updates on its progress in expanding to Singapore, Brazil, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, and Europe in a recent blog post.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong had previously stated that the company might consider leaving the US to operate in the UK due to regulatory challenges in the US. Coinbase has faced various actions in the US, including receiving a Wells notice from the Securities and Exchange Commission in March. The company settled with the New York Department of Financial Services on an unrelated issue in January and settled with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2021.
While the Bermuda license and other expansions do not signify a complete move away from the US or address the aforementioned issues, Coinbase is taking a “go broad and go deep approach” to ensure that it can serve users globally. Kraken, another cryptocurrency exchange, has also recently obtained regulatory approval in Ireland, while Binance expanded to Sweden in January, indicating a growing trend of cryptocurrency exchanges expanding their global reach.
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