Coinbase says it's 'on track' to become a regulated securities firm

Coinbase

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has announced that it is on-track towards the goal of becoming a federally regulated broker-dealer, pending approval by federal authorities.

In a company blog post, Chief Operating Officer and President Asiff Hirji wrote, "if approved, Coinbase will soon be capable of offering blockchain-based securities, under the oversight of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). This step forward is being made possible by our acquisition of a broker-dealer license (B-D), an alternative trading system license (ATS), and a registered investment advisor (RIA) license."

He further said that the company’s acquisition of Keystone Capital Corp., Venovate Marketplace, Inc., and Digital Wealth LLC has helped them further their cause. Elaborating on Coinbase’s plans, Hirji wrote, "We believe this is an important moment for the crypto ecosystem, and yet another indication of the maturation of the crypto economy. If approved, these licenses will set Coinbase on a path to offer future services that include crypto securities trading, margin and over-the-counter (OTC) trading, and new market data products.’

He also said that Coinbase could tokenise the existing securities products apart from offering its own securitised token which could bring the benefits of Cryptocurrency-based markets to the regular securities markets. He added, "We believe this will democratize access to capital markets for companies and investors alike, lowering costs for all participants and bringing additional transparency and inclusion to the ecosystem."

While Coinbase claims that this can be an important step towards a more open financial system in the world, it will be interesting to see how the regulators comprehend this and respond to Coinbase’s attempts of becoming a regulated securities firm.