Our 8-week international expansion drive in 6 continents

Countries from around the world are increasingly moving forward with responsible crypto forward regulatory frameworks so as to strategically position themselves as crypto hubs:

• In the United Kingdom, current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has previously stated his desire to make London an international hub for crypto. Last month, Financial Services Minister Andrew Griffith reiterated the “big potential opportunity” presented by crypto and accelerated plans to build a comprehensive regulatory framework for the industry. 

• The European Union’s Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) ground-breaking regulation is scheduled to enter into force in the coming weeks. Already, EU member countries like Germany have become centers of crypto and blockchain activity with Berlin emerging as a global hub and reports of others following the German capital’s lead.

• The Central Bank of Brazil has announced plans to leverage its Pix payment system to encourage banks to hold digital assets. In November of 2022, Central Bank Governor Campos Neto intends to make the communications protocols behind Pix open sourced “so that all central banks that wish to can copy [them], for free.”

• In the UAE, building off the strong regulatory momentum for crypto in Abu Dhabi, earlier this month Dubai announced an ambitious framework designed to provide a licensing framework for digital assets. Dubai is seeking to be a global hub for crypto and blockchain. Reports indicate that Dubai's Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) has been actively attracting crypto projects and global talent.

• Australia is in the midst of a consultation process on token mapping, and is expected to further consult on a licensing and custody regime for crypto later this year. 

• Singapore has a regulatory framework for crypto that seeks to balance innovation and consumer protection, and recently laid out new ambitions to become a crypto hub with a holistic approach.

• Along with its work to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC), news reports suggest that China has approved Hong Kong’s consultation on a new crypto-licencing regime designed to allow crypto innovation to thrive on the island. 

• Switzerland has become a hub for crypto and blockchain technology and has started positioning itself as a Crypto Nation, with a concerted effort to nurture the crypto industry.

• Countries like Bermuda with long-standing and globally-recognized financial and insurance regulatory regimes have reiterated their ambition to become crypto hubs.

• In Japan, the government is refining policy around DAOs, stablecoins and NFTs. 

• In North America, Canada introduced a pre-registration undertaking (PRU) to establish a consistent and balanced regulatory framework. The federal government also launched targeted consultations on crypto-assets as part of the review on the digitalization of money. 

• At the global level, the Group of 20 countries (G20), currently chaired by India, is championing the development of a global set of standards on crypto assets and stablecoins for agreement in Q3 2023.

This overview of activity from around the world speaks to how governments are moving quickly to bring crypto into their individual regulatory perimeters so as to strategically support efforts to position their countries as crypto hubs - attracting new companies, jobs and revenue.

In response to this fast moving regulatory activity in leading countries around the world, over the next eight weeks Coinbase will rapidly accelerate operationalizing its “Go Broad, Go Deep” international strategy by rolling out a number of new initiatives in countries outside the US spanning across six continents: South America, Europe, Africa/Middle East, Asia, Australia, and North America. 

The new initiatives over the next eight weeks will include:

• Launching new products and services, including bespoke projects, to enter or strengthen our presence across a wide-range of international markets. 

• Announcing specific partnerships with key financial sector, tech and telco partners. 

• Engaging with leading government officials and regulators to help advance their plans to support and regulate crypto. 

Coinbase co-founder and CEO Brian Armstrong penned a recent op-ed discussing the need for the US to lead when it comes to crypto. Brian chose to build the company in the US because of the belief that America should be at the forefront of the effort to update our financial system and make it faster, more efficient and easier. To advance this work and drive long-term growth, Coinbase is building the most trusted services and products to make our financial system faster, more efficient and easier, including industry leading initiatives to support know your customer rules, anti-money laundering laws and consumer protection tools. Coinbase believes the crypto sector and the US government should be working as allies to reform our financial system, including providing the kind of clarity and certainty governments around the world are doing.

As part of our ongoing integrated public education campaign "It's Time to Update the System," we will be running the below ad that emphasizes how the US is falling behind on measures of economic freedom.

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