Coinbase Bets Big on European Expansion Amid Crypto Winter

• Coinbase is expanding its operations into Europe as it continues to battle the crypto winter.
• The company was riding high on the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies at the end of 2021, but a significant stablecoin crash has caused investors to withdraw their money from centralized exchanges like Coinbase.
• Coinbase has had to realign its efforts while battling the bear market’s challenges and has laid off 18% of its workforce last summer.

Coinbase, the publicly traded U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, is betting on a big European expansion as the crypto winter continues to chill trading activity in its home market. In order to realign its efforts while battling the bear market’s challenges, the company laid off 18% of its workforce last summer and closed the majority of its Japanese operations on Tuesday morning after further 20% personnel reductions.

At the end of 2021, Coinbase was riding high on the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies. Investors who had never purchased a bond or made a stock market investment came to the platform to trade popular tokens like ether, bitcoin, and dogecoin. This influx of customers contributed to 2021’s record-breaking revenue and profits. The monthly active users on the platform increased by over 300%. During that year, Coinbase’s sales surged to $7.8 billion.

Unfortunately, this success was short-lived. In May 2021, a significant stablecoin crash rocked the cryptocurrency market, sending the price of bitcoin to a new two-year low and forcing investors to withdraw their money from centralized exchanges like Coinbase. The decline became much more pronounced after rival FTX’s collapse in November. The flight of traders from the market has posed a serious existential danger to Coinbase.

In response to this situation, Coinbase is now focusing on a European expansion. The company has already made inroads into the European market, having obtained the necessary licenses from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and the European Central Bank. Coinbase is also reportedly in talks with French authorities to set up a subsidiary in the country.

However, extending into Europe might not be sufficient to turn around the company’s fortunes. Despite the bear market, Coinbase is continuing with its plan to enter new markets. The company is hoping that its move into Europe will help to attract more traders and bring in additional revenue.

Time will tell if Coinbase’s European expansion will be enough to help the company survive the harsh crypto winter. Until then, Coinbase remains hopeful that its bet on Europe will pay off.