Coinbase failed to obtain the necessary registration to offer services in the Netherlands prior to beginning operations in the country according to the report.
The Dutch central bank, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), has fined United States-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase 3.3 million euros ($3.6 million) for lack of registration. According to a Reuters report on January 26th, the fine was issued due to non-compliance with local regulations for financial service providers.
This news comes as the deadline for filing tax returns in the United Kingdom approaches, with a crypto tax tool available to simplify the process for investors. However, in order to be eligible to file self-assessment tax returns online, crypto investors must first register with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), the non-ministerial department of the UK government responsible for collecting taxes.
Self-employed individuals or sole traders must register through their business tax account online, while those who are not self-employed must use form SA1 and fill it out online. Once registered, investors will need to extract and keep records on hand to compute and fill tax returns correctly.
The DNB took into consideration the size of the company and the fact that it has a “significant number of customers in the Netherlands.” The authorities claimed Coinbase was non-compliant during the time period between November 2020 and August 2022.
This is not the first time the DNB has targeted cryptocurrency exchanges for operating without a license. In December 2022, the DNB targeted KuCoin for the same reason, and in 2021, Binance Holdings Limited was targeted with similar allegations, for which the exchange paid more than 3 million euros in fines.
Coinbase has been in the headlines for various reasons regarding its business operations since the beginning of the year. On January 10th, the company announced it would be cutting 20% of its workforce due to operational restructuring. On the same day, the brother of a former manager of the crypto exchange was sentenced to 10 months in prison for insider trading, marking the first known case of its kind in the crypto industry. Coinbase announced it would stop operations in Japan due to the ongoing effects of the bear market trading slump a week later, on January 18th.
Coinbase’s shares increased 69% from its all-time low following the closure of its Japanese business, despite these unfavorable occurrences. Furthermore, Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment has added $17.6 million in Coinbase stock since the year 2023 began.