crypto exchange coinbasewas penalized for offering crypto services to customers in the country without registration. He was fined 3,325,000 euros ($3.6 million) by the Dutch central bank.
By law, users are required to register under anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing norms.
The Dutch central bank commented, “The base amount of the fine has been increased due to the seriousness and degree of guilt of the non-compliance.” Coinbase’s Holland He added that he also took into account the scale of his client base and the competitive advantage he gained by not paying audit fees.
Coinbase has until March 2 to appeal the administrative fine. Officials told CoinDesk that it did not agree with the executive order and was “carefully considering the appeals and appeals process.”
In a different comment, he stated that the decision was “based on the time it took for Coinbase to obtain our registration in the Netherlands. It does not contain any criticism of our real services,” he said. “Coinbase is committed to compliance in all jurisdictions in which it operates. In addition, it will continue to provide safe, reliable services to new and existing Dutch customers.”
“We should not be penalized for playing by the rules and participating in this process,” the spokesperson said.