Crypto Turf Battle As Coinbase, Crypto.Com and Binance compete to set up shop in new countries
Of CNBCTV18.com IST (published)
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Let’s look at how these leading crypto exchanges are clamoring to enter new markets, almost a sign of a turf war.
Crypto adoption has grown exponentially in recent years. This has given rise to several emerging crypto markets that are usually served by regional crypto exchanges, at least initially. These exchanges offer basic on-ramp, off-ramp, exchange and trading facilities to help users get started with the crypto overview.
However, global exchanges and trading platforms are also keeping an eye on these upcoming crypto markets. They are home to a largely untouched customer base of crypto newbies looking for new ways to monetize these digital assets.
That is one of the reasons why giants such as Binance, Crypto.com and Coinbase are quickly acquiring licenses to operate in new countries, wanting to capture a new audience base.
Let’s look at how these leading crypto exchanges are clamoring to enter new markets, almost a sign of a turf war.
Towards the end of September, the global crypto exchange, Crypto.com, received regulatory approval to enter the French market. Following the approval, the exchange announced that it would invest over $145 million to establish a European headquarters in Paris and expand services in the area. This comes just months after Binance also received the nod from French authorities to offer crypto custody services and operate a trading platform in the country.
More recently, on October 11, Coinbase beat out Binance to receive regulatory approval in the Singapore. The following day, Blockchain.com also announced that it had received the green light from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to legally offer crypto products in the city-state.
Singapore is one of the leading financial centers in the Asia-Pacific region and a hotspot for crypto firms. However, MAS has also increased its regulatory requirements recently, making it one of the stricter regulators for crypto firms.
Before entering Singapore, Coinbase was busy entering markets in Europe. In mid-July, it secured approval to offer crypto services in the Italy. Then, last month, it became the first major global crypto exchange to successfully register with The Dutch central bank (De Nederlandsche Bank — DNB).
“We are in the process of strengthening our presence across Europe and have registrations or license applications pending in several major markets in accordance with local regulations,” said Nana Murugesan, vice president of international and business development at Coinbase.
Binance has also entered quite a few markets in recent months. As mentioned earlier, the crypto exchange entered France in May. Then, on September 20, Binance secured a Minimal Viable Product (MVP) license from Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). This is an upgrade from the provisional licence, which it received in March 2022.
A few days later, on September 29, the company announced its entry into the New Zealand and opened offices in the country. Most recently, on 6 October, the world’s largest stock exchange received a license to operate in Kazakhstanwhich is second only to the US in Bitcoin mining hashrate.
The race to enter new markets, despite the crypto winter and several cutbacks, is a positive sign. It indicates that the largest crypto exchanges in the world expect future growth and are optimistic about the crypto market. Their growing presence could also accelerate the adoption of digital assets in these emerging markets. All of this is good news for the cryptoverse.
