Coinbase won approval from the Dutch Central Bank to offer its crypto services in the Netherlands, the exchange announced in a blog post. The move marks a big step forward for Coinbase’s expansion plans as it becomes “the first major global crypto exchange” to receive approval in the Netherlands.

Coinbase Views the Netherlands as “a Critical International Market for Crypto”

Coinbase became the first major crypto exchange to win approval from Dutch Central Bank to offer its products and services in the Netherlands, the company wrote in a blog post Thursday. The approval will “allow Coinbase to offer our full suite of retail, institutional, and ecosystem products to customers in the Netherlands,” it added.

“The Netherlands is a critical international market for crypto, and I am really excited for Coinbase to bring the potential of the crypto economy to the market here.”

– Nana Murugesan, Vice President, International and Business Development at Coinbase

The registration provides an important boost to Coinbase’s global expansion efforts as the company forays into another European market, in addition to 40 other countries in the region it operates in. The crypto exchange has dedicated hubs across Germany, Ireland, and the U.K. and plans to register in several other markets, subject to their local regulations.

Coinbase said it sees proper regulation of the crypto sector as an “enabler” for the market’s expansion as a clear regulatory framework would stimulate innovation and reinforce trust between the investors and lawmakers. In a research report by Kaiko published earlier this year, Coinbase Global was ranked the best crypto exchange in the world.

A Difficult Year for Crypto But a Big One for Coinbase

The registration in the Netherlands will allow Coinbase to expand into 26 other European Union (EU) countries when the Market in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulation takes effect. MiCA represents landmark legislation by the EU aimed at regulating the “crypto wild west” following the LUNA implosion and other headwinds that increased the need for tighter crypto scrutiny.

Further, Coinbase agreed to a monumental deal with the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, to offer crypto services to institutional investors. The deal will provide joint customers of Coinbase Prime and BlackRock’s own investment management platform with access to crypto trading, prime brokerage, and reporting features.

2022 turned out to be one of the most challenging years for the crypto market, yet extremely important for Coinbase as the San Francisco-based exchange continues its rapid expansion. Crypto prices have fallen to multi-year lows, with Bitcoin and Ether losing over 50% in the past 6 months.

This article originally appeared on The Tokenist

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