In a substantial regulatory victory, the prominent US-based crypto exchange Coinbase has received the green light from the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) to provide perpetual futures trading services to retail clients outside the US. As the exchange uncovered its plans in a recent blog post, it set its sights on capturing rapidly growing non-institutional interest in this sector, which represents an impressive three quarters of all crypto trading volumes globally.
The international arm of Coinbase has already shown healthy institutional demand with over $5.5 billion in notional futures trading volume being witnessed in the second quarter. With the bolstered regulatory approval, Coinbase now has the go-ahead to widen its customer base and offerings significantly.
Increasing calls for comprehensive regulatory frameworks underscore the balance that needs to be struck between fostering innovation and consumer protection. Emphasizing this, Coinbase expressed intentions of working in tandem with ‘forward-looking regulators’, believing that robust legal parameters are instrumental for long-term growth and cryptocurrency adoption. With a global expansion strategy encompassing 24 countries, the exchange has also distinctly marked its intention to advocate for transparent and standardized crypto regulations at the upcoming G20 forum in Brazil.
In its continued expansion endeavors, Coinbase recently secured an Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance registration from the Bank of Spain, thereby granting it the status of a registered crypto exchange in the country. This opens the door for Coinbase to provide its complete array of products and services to Spanish customers while adhering to the nation’s legal requirements.
It’s worth noting, Coinbase’s global growth plan has been untethered by some regulatory backlash at home. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused the exchange of selling unregistered securities, among other allegations, this June. Consequently, a Show Cause notice was issued from 11 US states requiring Coinbase to justify why it shouldn’t halt operations.
As Coinbase forges ahead, the exchange is tangibly demonstrating the complex interplay between crypto and wider finance, traversing increasingly blurred regulatory lines. As it pushes for inclusion in various global markets, it also highlights the evolving dialogue that governments, financial institutions, and exchanges need to engage in for cryptocurrency to become a mainstream asset class.
Source: Cryptonews
