International Look Back 2022

Coinbase has a long history of regulatory collaboration, and a steadfast commitment to compliance. Distinctively: we hold customer assets 1:1, in segregated accounts. We include UCC Article 8 protection in our Retail User Agreement, which says that the digital assets we hold for our customers are not Coinbase's property and won’t be made available to our creditors. Additionally, as a publicly traded company, you can see our audited financials. Through 2023, we plan to continue to work on increasing our transparency, and begin exploring ways to offer cryptographic financials. 

EMEA Highlights 2022

I spent a lot of time in EMEA this year and was thrilled to see our UK, Irish and German offices prosper. We announced new leadership appointments in the region and hosted executives for meetings with elected officials and members of the media. Brian visited London in June to meet with policymakers, including Rishi Sunak, now Prime Minister, who was serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time. 

Other EMEA highlights include our Italian, Dutch and Irish registrations, and expanding TRUST; a global, industry-driven solution designed to improve compliance with a requirement known as the Travel Rule, while prioritising customer security and privacy. Coinbase was honoured to be name-checked in Ireland’s Department of Finance strategy paper as an important ecosystem member – a reminder that our work with regulators is critical to our long term success. On a similar note, in the UK we were honoured to win the ‘’Institutional Contribution of the Year’’ award for our Prime and custody products at the CryptoUK Awards in London. Many of the largest hedge funds and pensions in the world use Coinbase Prime for trading and custody and we are humbled to earn their trust and support. 

On product coverage, we celebrated quite a few wins, including announcing 0% trading fees on USDC &  1% APY. On the partnership front, in Germany we are working with SOS-Kinderdorf to accept crypto for donations, and in the UK, we have partnered with TrueLayer to introduce ‘Easy Bank Transfers’, a fast and secure way for UK users to fund their account. 

APAC Highlights 2022

This was a big year for us in the Asia Pacific region that included product launches, partnerships with industry leaders, and inspiring collaborations with local and national governments. 

First, we launched our enhanced product offering in Australia: integrating payment provider –and local innovator– Zepto, introducing PayID, offering Retail Advance Trading, and providing 24/7 chat support. Additionally, we were welcomed as members of Blockchain Australia, and also recently joined their board. And, through the Coinbase Institute, we collaborated with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology on research about Web3 and the future of finance in Australia.

In Singapore, we received regulatory approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) under the Payment Services Act to provide regulated Digital Payment Token services in the island state. Following this announcement, Brian took centre stage at this year’s edition of the Singapore Fintech Festival. He spoke to MAS’s Chief Fintech Officer, Sopnendu Mohanty, about Web3 innovation, the role of regulation, and our hopes for the future. We also saw rapid adoption of Coinbase Wallet with customers and developers across Southeast Asia, creating a playbook that we plan to use to expand in the region and beyond.

Finally, in India, we formed a national industry body, Bharat Web3 Association (BWA) with leading firms to promote dialogue between key stakeholders, and drive awareness about web3. We are also engaging with the different states, recently signing a memorandum of understanding with the government of Telangana to collaborate towards building a strong local web3 community. 

AMER Highlights 2022

Building a championship team with top global and local talent is a key focus of our international efforts. This year, we hired regional managing directors for EMEA, APAC and AMER and key leaders in each region, including our most recent country director hire, Lucas Matheson, who will be leading Canada. 

Also in Canada, we signed an agreement partnering with Peoples Group to enable fiat money movement for Canadian users. We expect to elevate our customer experience by launching additional local payment rails next year. 

Meanwhile in Brazil, we built a remote team across the country, including a tech hub. We also signed a deal with EBANX to enable Pix payments. We are excited to build from the region for the region, and for what’s ahead as we prepare to launch the main Coinbase app and website in the coming months.

It’s been a whirlwind year. I’ve spent a good number of days at 30,000 feet, criss-crossing the globe in support of our mission of increasing economic opportunity. It has been an immense privilege, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2023 as we continue to double down our go broad and go deep strategy around the world.