Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the United States, now gets approval to operate in Italy. They have been given regulatory permission to provide crypto services in the country. It is yet another win for them as they look to expand their services throughout Europe. A while back, they even acquired BtcTurk for $3.2 billion to increase its reach and get more users onto its platform.
Coinbase to provide crypto services in Italy
Italy’s regulatory body has given Coinbase permission to provide its services in the country. The company announced the same in a blog post. It read, “Today, we’re able to announce a key milestone … securing approval from Italian regulators to provide ongoing crypto services to its residents.” Italy has set criteria for companies who want to offer crypto trading services and custody of crypto. And since Coinbase met all the requirements, they were able to bag the approval.
The blog also reiterated its plans of expansion and said that they want to bring Coinbase’s offerings to all countries in Europe. Currently, they are present in nearly 40 European nations and have special offices in the UK, Germany, and Ireland. They also have many pending applications in other countries which might soon be approved.
Coinbase has the advantage of being a US company which puts it in a good light. And since it doesn’t tread off regulations, the company is easily able to acquire operational licenses. They are planning to offer both retail and enterprise products in all these countries. At present, its closest competitor is Binance which has also been working on its approach and is bagging licenses in many different countries.
Despite its growth, Coinbase lays off 18% of its employees
The company recently let go of nearly 1100 people from its workforce due to the current market conditions. Despite the fact that they are expanding quite fast and going well, layoffs still happened. The company’s CEO said that the US recession and crypto winter are the primary reason that they took this step. Coinbase is planning for the worst to ensure that they survive this phase of the market. Brian accepted the fact that they over-hired, and things were happening just too quickly.
What are your thoughts as Coinbase gets approval to operate in Italy? And do you think that laying off employees is justifiable to save the company? Let us know in the comments below. Also, if you found our content informative, do like and share it with your friends.
Also Read: Crypto market cap reaches $1 trillion after BTC and ETH’s rally.
