Coinbase Considering Marketplace Outside US

Coinbase is reportedly looking at building a new crypto marketplace outside the United States.

The firm has told institutional clients it may establish an alternative marketplace for global clients, Bloomberg reported Friday (March 17), citing unnamed sources.

Reached for comment by PYMNTS, a Coinbase spokesperson highlighted a March 8 blog post in which the company said it is rolling out new initiatives in countries outside the U.S. while also believing that the crypto sector and the U.S. government should be working together to reform the financial system.

“As shared on our blog, we are accelerating our ‘Go Broad, Go Deep’ international strategy across six continents to better serve our global user base,” the spokesperson said in an email. “Our international expansion drive will focus on high-bar regulatory jurisdictions. We remain focused on offering our products in a safe, compliant way, with sound risk management at the core.”

The reported discussions with clients come at a time when U.S. regulators have been cracking down on crypto-related companies, with Kraken shutting down its staking program and paying $30 million in a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Paxos stopping minting the BUSD stablecoin after a guidance by the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYDFS), the Bloomberg report said.

An offshore trading platform would give Coinbase an alternative to its U.S. one and would give global clients access to products that may not be approved by U.S. regulators, the report said.

During the company’s most recent earnings call, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the company has positioned itself as a regulated and legitimate market leader, that it expects this to be a benefit as the regulatory environment is stepped up, and that he has been spending a lot of time in D.C. working with lawmakers.

“There’s a lot of excitement about the potential and desire to have this built here in America by people who realize the U.S. is a little bit behind right now,” Armstrong said during the Feb. 21 call. “The [European Union (EU)] has already passed comprehensive legislation, and policymakers are seeing others that are moving in that direction. There’s a lot of bipartisan support for getting legislation passed.”