“Coinbase has taken substantial steps to address these historical shortcomings and remains committed to being a leader and role model in the crypto space, including partnering with regulators on compliance,” said Paul Grewal, Coinbase's chief legal officer. .
The crypto industry has grappled with increasing regulatory pressure over the enforcement of know-your-customer rules and anti-money laundering programs. Binancethe world's largest crypto exchange, and FTX, its rival now bankruptBoth faced US investigations for money laundering, Bloomberg previously reported.
New York requires companies that engage in crypto services to obtain their BitLicense to operate in the state, which allows its regulators to conduct examinations and oversight. In August, the Department of Financial Services fined the crypto arm of Robinhood Markets $30 million for anti-money laundering and other violations.
Coinbase has disclosed the New York investigation in connection with its compliance program in its 2021 annual filing. “The size of the deal is not significant in the context of” the more than $5 billion in cash on its balance sheet, but “likely to put pressure on the company to continue to increase investments and ongoing expenses” related to compliance, KBW analysts including Kyle Voigt wrote. in a note on Wednesday.
Coinbase shares were up 11 percent at $37.41 in morning trading in New York. The shares fell 86 percent last year. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, fell 64 percent in 2022.
– With the assistance of Matt Turner.
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
