Coinbase Europe Limited

the Central Bank has decided that it is appropriate to impose the following sanctions:  A reprimand; and  A monetary penalty in the amount of €30,663,906 reduced to €21,464,734 after application of the settlement scheme discount. 1 Section 33AR(1)(a)(ii) of the 1942 Act: “where there are undisputed facts that in the reasonable opinion of the Bank render an investigation unnecessary, suspects on reasonable grounds that a person is committing or has committed a prescribed contravention…” 2 3. Coinbase Europe has agreed to these sanctions,2 however, they will not take effect unless they are confirmed by the High Court.3 4. Further details on the prescribed contraventions and sanctions are set out in Parts 3 and 4 of this Settlement Notice. 5. A chronology of events is set out in the Appendix below. Summary of Reasons for the Central Bank’s Action 6. Coinbase Europe is a wholly owned subsidiary of Coinbase Global, Inc., a United States corporation, and is part of the global Coinbase Group 4 which operates a significant global trading platform for crypto assets. 7. Coinbase Europe was established in 2020 to provide crypto asset and wallet services to customers in Europe and other international jurisdictions and is an entry point for those customers to use the Coinbase Group trading platform. 8. Cryptocurrency firms are exposed to significant money laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF) risks due to their technological features, cross-border operations, and anonymity-enhancing capabilities. Virtual asset service providers (VASPs), along with banks and credit unions are currently the three largest reporting sectors for suspicious transaction (STRs) in Ireland.