Crypto exchange Coinbase is to pay a €3.3 million fine in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, the central bank there has imposed a fine of 3.325 million euros on the European branch of the crypto exchange Coinbase. The company started its business activities without officially registering beforehand. A license is required under Dutch anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations.

The Dutch Central Bank (DNB) states that Coinbase offered its cryptocurrency services without a license from November 2020 to August 2022. The crypto exchange registered correctly in September 2022. Before that, however, Coinbase enjoyed a competitive advantage because the company had not paid any regulatory fees for 21 months.

Coinbase disagrees with fine

According to the central bank, the amount of the fine was increased from the base of 2 million euros due to the seriousness and culpability of the advance. The scope of Coinbase’s operations as one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world was also taken into account. At the same time, the fine was reduced by 5 percent because Coinbase had always sought to acquire the license. The range of fines for violations of this type generally ranges from 0 euros to a maximum of 4 million euros.

A Coinbase spokesperson explained Decrypt disagree with this fine. One should not be penalized for following the rules and participating in the process. Coinbase was also not criticized for its services, the registration in the Netherlands simply took time.

Objection period until the beginning of March

Coinbase now has until early March to appeal the fine. “While we respect DNB’s authority to enforce its regulations, we carefully review the appeals and appeals process,” a crypto exchange spokesman said. In July 2022, the DNB already imposed a fine of the same amount on Coinbase competitor Binance, also for operating without a license.

Recently, US financial regulators imposed a significantly higher fine on Coinbase. In the US, Coinbase is to be fined $100 million for violating money laundering laws. $50 million of that is a fine for allegedly lax anti-money laundering measures in New York State. The crypto exchange is said to be investing another $50 million in a program to improve its control mechanisms.

(fds)