Coinbase Ramps Up Efforts to Expand in Europe, Partners With Bitpanda

Austrian crypto exchange and trading platform Bitpanda will be working with Coinbase to connect America’s largest exchange with European banks.

The move is the latest effort by Coinbase to expand overseas following the U.S. regulatory war on crypto. The partnership will allow Coinbase to use Bitpanda’s business infrastructure layer to connect directly to banks and fintech firms.

Furthermore, Coinbase will become a liquidity provider for Bitpanda Technology Solutions (BTC), the firm’s “investing-as-a-service” division.

This will enable the platform’s institutional clients to integrate trading infrastructure and offer their own clients crypto investment and custody tools, according to reports.

Several banks, including Austrian Raiffeisenlandesbank, German neobank N26, the French fintech firm Lydia, and UK investment firm Plum, are already using the service.

Coinbase Branching Out

According to BitPanda COO Lukas, Enzersdorfer-Konrad, the rollout of Europe’s MiCA regulations will enable banks to offer crypto services to customers. Banks can see how much of their customer funds have been flowing into crypto companies, he told CoinDesk before adding:

“They understand how much business they are missing out on, and also how much more of their customer base would do that business, if they had enough trust in the process.”

“Bitpanda and Coinbase share an ambition — to make investing in digital assets safe and secure in a regulated way,” he added.

Guillaume Chatain, Coinbase’s head of institutional sales EMEA and APAC, said that the firm was working hard to “update the financial system by building trusted products that expand the utility and adoption of crypto.”

Coinbase is facing increasing regulatory pressure on its home turf in the United States following the threat of legal action from the Securities and Exchange Commission in March.

Its petition requesting more clarity on crypto regulations has been rebutted by the SEC, which claims that securities laws are already in place and there is no need for new legislation for the new asset class.

In addition to its European expansion ambitions, Coinbase has also been granted a license to operate in Bermuda as it gradually starts to branch away from the harsh environment at home. The firm is also considering the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a potential strategic hub for its international operations.

Crypto Market Outlook

Crypto markets have fallen sharply today, with a 3.3% decline in total capitalization dropping levels below support. As a result, the total cap has fallen to a two-month low of $1.14 trillion.

Bitcoin has fallen to $26,068 following a 4% slide, while Ethereum was down to $1,778 after shedding 3.7%.