- Coinbase has chosen Bermuda as a “cryptocurrency hub” after obtaining an operational license
- The exchange is expected to launch an exchange in the country in the coming weeks
- CEO Brian Armstrong recently said that top crypto companies could move offshore where regulations are clearer
Coinbase has obtained a license to operate in Bermuda just days after CEO Brian Armstrong warned that the exchange could move “offshore” if the regulatory landscape in the U.S. and UK doesn’t improve. The exchange said that the move would “further its mission of increasing economic freedom for every individual and business around the world”, but the timing of the announcement is interesting considering Armstrong’s recent comments over its current operations. Coinbase will launch an exchange in the country in the coming weeks, with the assets it chooses to list being heavily scrutinized given the recent focus on crypto securities in the U.S.
Bermuda Among Potential Crypto Hubs
Coinbase posted about its Bermuda expansion on Wednesday, saying that its “go broad and go deep approach” has borne fruit with its Bermuda license. At the start of March, the exchange announced an eight-week international expansion drive in six continents, pushing a strategy to establish “crypto hubs” across the world.
In the post, Coinbase listed a number of countries that had publicly outlined a desire to adopt cryptocurrencies in one form or another, noting that, “Countries like Bermuda with long-standing and globally-recognized financial and insurance regulatory regimes have reiterated their ambition to become crypto hubs.” Six weeks later after this post, Coinbase has received a regulatory operational license from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) under its 2018 Digital Asset Business Act.
Coinbase Has a Dig at SEC
Coinbase says that Bermuda is “long known for a high level of rigor, transparency, compliance, and cooperation”, adding that it was chosen as an international cryptocurrency due to the BMA’s reputation as a “highly respected and experienced financial regulator” led by a “world-class executive team and board of directors”. This couldn’t be more in contrast with the changing mood over U.S. regulators such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, whose chair Gary Gensler was heavily criticized over his performance at a House Financial Services Committee hearing this week.
Armstrong said recently during the UK’s Fintech Week that top crypto companies could move offshore where regulations were clearer if the situation in the likes of the U.S. and UK doesn’t improve.
