06/30/2021
Coinbase becomes the first company in Germany to receive a crypto custody licence.
The German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority has indicated that Coinbase is now authorised to carry out proprietary trading and cryptocurrency custody services through its local subsidiary Coinbase Germany GmbH.
"On June 28, 2021, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority approved Coinbase Germany GmbH to provide proprietary trading and cryptocurrency custody services, limited to crypto assets and bookkeeping. "
This major announcement makes Coinbase's local subsidiary the first crypto company to receive a license from BaFin to offer crypto custody services in the country.
"Coinbase Germany GmbH is therefore the owner of the first licence issued by BaFin for the crypto custody business, which is a newly introduced financial service."
Earlier reports indicate that by February 2020, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority has received more than 40 applications for bitcoin custody rights from local banks, including Solarisbank, the first German bank to offer digital asset services.
The German Financial Supervisory Authority has made it clear that the licenses should follow the law thoroughly.
The German Financial Supervisory Authority added that the new business model is based on the EU's fourth anti-money laundering law, a directive that was approved in 2015 and came into force on 26 June 2017.
The directive adds tax evasion and other serious financial offences to the list of existing offences, which means that more transactions must be monitored and more customers must be subject to customer due diligence.
According to the German Financial Supervisory Authority, the crypto custody regulatory model has been extensively studied and reviewed to adequately address the complexities of the cryptocurrency market.
"According to the German Financial Supervisory Authority an interdisciplinary, cross-group and cross-departmental team has been established to deal with the complex issues related to crypto-custody operations."
Coinbase continues to establish its global market position as the crypto industry leader.
This news further establishes Coinbase as a leader in North American crypto startups that have a strong base both inside and outside of the United States.
Coinbase is listed through the NASDAQ and is valued at nearly $100 billion on 14 April 2021, with a current valuation of approximately $56.67 billion.
The company remains a popular one for many regulators in North America and Europe as it is considered to be in strict compliance with regulatory guidelines set out by the US and other regulatory jurisdictions.
In 2018, Coinbase launched a crypto asset custody business to address the security, regulatory and operational challenges posed by the cryptocurrency market.
Its services include cryptographic deposits and withdrawals and bets from custody accounts across a wide range of cryptographic assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, XRP, USDC Coin, Polkadot, Uniswap, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and Chainlink.
Coinbase custody is considered to be the most trusted in the world, covering industry-leading insurance policies and transparency to customers. In addition to New York, San Francisco and Chicago, its hosting services are available to customers in London and Dublin.