Crypto Is Sluggish, Coinbase Is Even Aggressive In Expanding To Europe
JAKARTA – In the middle of this year, the crypto market is sluggish because coin prices have experienced a deep decline. The crypto world is currently experiencing a bear market. This situation has not stopped developers, such as Coinbase, from aggressively expanding into countries in Europe. This sparked various reactions in many circles.
Coinbase is expanding its operations to various countries in Europe in the midst of a “crypto winter” when the market is sluggish. Despite laying off many of its employees and canceling job offers, Coinbase vice president Nana Murugesan expressed intent to list Coinbase in Italy, Spain, France, and the Netherlands.
In Switzerland, the United States-based Coinbase has hired its first employee and already has licenses and permits to trade cryptocurrencies in the UK, Ireland, and Germany.
According to a Cointelegraph report, in an interview on June 29, Murugesan stated that the company now wants to expand its access and network to Europe. Moreover, amid the cryptocurrency slump, the company is also open to acquisitions in the region.
Murugesan feels that this is an ideal time for expansion into other countries as many crypto-focused businesses are running short of cash and are at risk of bankruptcy. He took advantage of this situation by offering a partnership with Coinbase. The collapse of the crypto market has wiped out nearly $2 trillion of all circulating market value. Currently, the market cap is worth around $900 billion due to the liquidity crisis that forced Three Arrows Capital and Celsius Network to close.
This expansion has been carried out during 2015-2016 during the bearish period. Coinbase is the most famous cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, it is competing with newcomers such as Binance, FTX, and Crypto.com. When Binance's US affiliate announced that it would no longer charge fees for Bitcoin trading, Coinbase's stock took a hit and fell.
Coinbase continues to compete with these companies which are gaining a lot of popularity in other regions of the world. Like Binance and FTX have received licenses in the Middle East. In addition, Binance has obtained licenses in France and Italy and is seeking permits in other European countries.
When technology companies around the world lay off, Coinbase inevitably has to do the same. The crisis forced companies to cut nearly 18% of all of their global workforce in June. Coinbase continues to maneuver and ways to stay afloat as described above, namely expansion that takes advantage of the lack of capital funds from other companies.