Coinbase Wins the Approval of Italy’s Financial Watchdog

Leading crypto exchange Coinbase has secured a crypto asset service provider license in Italy. The company announced this news through a blog post on July 18. This license will allow the exchange to offer Italians crypto services in a regulated environment.

According to the blog post, Coinbase moved to secure the license after Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM) said it would implement new requirements for crypto service providers. Among the new requirements for crypto service providers is securing regulatory approval.

Additionally, OAM mandates crypto service providers to share information such as personal data, tax identification, details of the identification document, a certified e-mail address, the type of activity and services provided, the methods of carrying out the service.

Coinbase claims it was among the first companies to meet the new requirements.

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Nana Murugesan, Vice President, International and Business Development at Coinbase, said:

Building a constructive relationship with regulators in every jurisdiction in which we operate is incredibly important as we march toward our mission of increasing economic freedom in every corner of the world. Gaining this regulatory approval is a testament to our close collaboration and positive working relationship with the Italian financial regulators.

Just Getting Started

At the moment, Coinbase offers crypto services to almost 40 European countries. However, it only provides these services through hubs in Ireland, the UK, and Germany. By securing the crypto asset service provider in Italy, the exchange stands to increase its presence in Europe.

This news comes after Coinbase renewed plans to expand into Europe in June. At the time, Murugesan said the exchange had already initiated the registration in Italy, Spain, France, and the Netherlands.

In today’s announcement, Murugesan said Coinbase intends to continue working with regulators as it expands into Europe and other regions. She added that this approach would help the exchange deploy market products that consumers want in the market. 

Competition Among Leading Crypto Exchanges Stiffens

Although Coinbase takes delight in being among the first exchanges to secure the OAM license, its rival Binance beat it to the feat. Binance got the green light to operate in Italy in June. Before this, Binance received the approval of Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), France’s stock market watchdog. Additionally, Binance plans to expand into Sweden and Spain.

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The competition between Coinbase and Binance goes beyond Europe. In the past month, Binance.US, the American branch of Binance, announced zero-fee Bitcoin (BTC) trading. This move partially contributed to the plunge of Coinbase’s stock (COIN) in the past month.