While Coinbase has recently resorted to numerous layoffs, the company says it wants to expand in Europe and the UK. Officials from the exchange and CEO Brian Armstrong have been meeting with policymakers in London and Dublin, and an office in Switzerland has been set up
Coinbase wants to expand in Europe and the UK
Exchange Coinbase published a blog post on Friday outlining its ambitions to expand into Europe and the UK. The company also announced that CEO Brian Armstrong and other executives have met with several political leaders in London and Dublin
We’re expanding our footprint across European markets!
Recently, Coinbase executives including @brian_armstrong, @faryarshirzad, and @NanaMurugesan met with policymakers across the UK and EU.
Read more about our plans on our blog! https://t.co/8x11WJTsXx
– Coinbase (@coinbase) July 1, 2022
The exchange praises in particular the relevance of the UK regulation, which is its most important international market. A few days ago, we learned that the UK seemed to give up the idea of monitoring self-hosted wallets.
Coinbase also highlights the tentative common political agreement reached this week in Europe around MiCA regulation. While some points are open to debate, the platform commends the European Union for this regulatory harmonisation.
On the other hand, the company informs about the creation of a regional centre of excellence in Ireland. This is a kind of think tank that seeks to educate regulators on the best trade-offs for the industry. Also with a view to expanding its market share, Coinbase recently opened an office in Switzerland. The office will be managed by the German branch of the group
A vision beyond the short-term situation
While the latest news from the company has been about its massive layoffs, it seems it is looking to the future:
“At Coinbase, our mission is to promote economic freedom, and we believe the best way to do that is to increase the adoption of crypto around the world. That’s why international expansion is fundamentally aligned with the mission and continues to be a company priority. “
Coinbase indeed argues that it can be tempting to scale back international expansion during a bear market. However, it is looking back at its successful strategy in 2015 when, in a similar situation, it entered the European market.
From an outsider’s perspective, it is difficult to say whether the recent layoffs reflect poor health of the company. It may also be the result of pressure from shareholders to reduce the charges on the balance sheet and increase profits. The fact is that since its IPO in April 2021, Coinbase has been hit hard. And for good reason, the stock is down nearly 89% since its NASDAQ debut:
Coinbase share price
While Europe is an important market in the cryptocurrency industry, competition is tough. Binance, for example, is gaining a growing lead with its compliance strategy. Coinbase, on the other hand, obviously has a card to play and the upcoming market phases will be a good gauge of how well the company’s strategy is working.
