“Coinbase has secured its Markets in Crypto Assets (Mica) licence from the Luxembourg Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), enabling us to offer our full suite of crypto products to all 27 EU member states,” wrote Coinbase’s EMEA vice-president Daniel Seifert in a blog post published 20 June. This solidifies “Coinbase’s position as a global leader in regulatory compliance and innovation. In short, this milestone enables us to offer a full suite of crypto products and services to 450m people across all 27 European Union member states.”
“Luxembourg has always been a key player in Europe’s financial ecosystem, and we’re delighted to share that Coinbase is officially establishing its European crypto hub in this dynamic country, under the Markets in Crypto Assets regulatory framework (Mica),” continued Seifert. “Luxembourg has long been a forward-thinking financial hub, demonstrating an unwavering commitment to fostering innovation. By choosing Luxembourg, we’re positioning ourselves in a jurisdiction that understands the needs of the crypto industry and excels in regulatory clarity. Luxembourg is actively pursuing a whole-of-government approach to blockchain and DLT, and has passed four blockchain-related policies through the national legislature. This new hub represents a landmark step forward for Coinbase in Europe and strengthens the broader innovation ecosystem.”
This week at the Nexus conference, we bumped into the company's CEO, Brian Armstrong for an interview and shared an on-stage exchange with Seifert. Despite having indicated that they wanted to make Dublin their “Mica hub” for the past two years, the Coinbase delegation praised Luxembourg’s blockchain laws, making it a barometer of the sector. “The CSSF has set a high standard, and we hope to see this spirit replicated across the region,” wrote Seifert.
Founded in 2012, Coinbase is now one of the world’s biggest digital asset exchange platforms. In the first quarter, the company posted sales of $2.03bn, confirming its rebound despite the volatility of the crypto markets. Its non-GAAP profitability stood at $527m, buoyed by adjusted Ebitda of $930m, an impressive level in the Web3 ecosystem.
But the real transformation comes from diversification: almost 35% of revenues now come from subscriptions and services, well beyond trading commissions alone. Coinbase is becoming a financial infrastructure player in its own right, with B2B products, staking, cloud and institutional custody. The company has cash of $9.9bn, part of which is in USDC, the stablecoin it is co-developing with Circle. It is therefore financially solid, even in a period of monetary tightening. And with the increasing adoption of clear regulatory frameworks in the United States, such as the crypto-friendly Genius Act passed by the Senate in June, Coinbase is positioning itself as a trusted intermediary between the crypto world and traditional finance.
The directors, who opened a structure in Luxembourg’s Gare district at the start of the year, have announced that they are recruiting 20 people at the moment.
This article was originally published in French.
