Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has partnered with instant payment app Pix as part of its service expansion efforts in Brazil. Operated by the Central Bank of Brazil, Pix is a Brazilian IP scheme that enables people, companies and governmental entities to send or receive payment transfers in a few seconds at any time, including non-business days.

By tapping into Pix’s capabilities, Brazilians will have an easier time purchasing crypto using the Brazilian real. The partnership will also enable deposits and withdrawals from Coinbase accounts in real, and users will benefit from easier access to opening a Coinbase account. According to cointelegraph.

com, Coinbase established a tech hub in Brazil in 2021 and had 40 employees in the country by June 2022, when it announced that it would launch its services to the Brazilian public. Moreover, the same source revealed that Coinbase is reportedly planning to set up a crypto trading platform outside the United States. The reported move came in the context of US lawmakers and regulators blaming crypto firms for their perceived role in the failure of Silvergate Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank.

Other noteworthy news from Coinbase In February 2023, Coinbase launched the Base layer-2 network in an effort to make building decentralised apps more accessible. The Base layer-2 network is powered by Optimism and secured on Ethereum, and even though it is still in its testing phase at the time of writing, it has been described by crypto community members as a turning point for Ethereum. According to coinpedia.

org, Base could set a precedent for other cryptocurrency companies and financial institutions to use Ethereum as their main settlement layer. Moreover, Syncracy Capital officials cited by the same source expressed their belief that Coinbase is well-positioned to onboard the next 10 million users and institutions to Ethereum.   There is some concern, however, as expressed by the general counsel of investment firm Delphi Labs, who emphasised that launching a centralised layer-2 network could potentially invite unwanted SEC scrutiny.

In January 2023, New York financial regulators have found that Coinbase violated anti-money laundering laws by failing to conduct adequate background checks. As a result, Coinbase had to pay a USD 50 million fine to the New York State Department of Financial Services and was also required to spend USD 50 million on improving its compliance program. Coinbase disclosed that this investigation was in progress in its annual 10k filing in 2021.

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