This article is from cointelegraph.com.br and the original article can be read here in Portuguese
The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase reaffirmed its willingness to officially start operations in Brazil later this year, denying rumors that it would postpone its installation plans in the country, according to a report by Exame published this Thursday, 9.
The company’s statement also assured that Coinbase will not lay off employees, despite some recent trade setbacks and the current bear market cycle, which necessarily implies a reduction in the exchange’s revenues.
Despite plans to triple the size of the company in 2022, given market conditions, Coinbase chose to pause its policy of new hires and that nothing changes in the installation plans in Brazil, the company said in a note released in the report:
“Due to current market conditions, we had to make the difficult decision to freeze hiring — however, international expansion remains a key priority and we will hire accordingly to support mission-critical functions including compliance and security.
In late May, Coinbase held a free event whose purpose was to attract talent for the exchange’s Brazilian team. Although it has not publicly commented on the formation of its local team of professionals, the note makes specific mention of Brazil, citing the country as a priority market for the exchange’s expansion plan:
“Adapting quickly and acting now will help us successfully navigate this macro environment and emerge even stronger, enabling even healthier growth and innovation. Brazil remains a priority market for us and we are on track for our launch in the country.” .”
Although not officially based in the country, Coinbase already offers its services to Brazilian investors. Through the exchange platform, local users have access to more than 170 cryptocurrencies through credit card payment.
The exchange’s digital wallet, Coinbase Wallet, is also available to Brazilian users. Through it, users can access protocols from web3 and interact with decentralized applications (DApps). Another functionality offered by the Coinbase platform is staking, which allows users to earn passive income by temporarily blocking their crypto assets.
In the note sent to the press, Coinbase does not set a date for the official opening of its operations in the country, nor for expanding its offer of services to Brazilian investors. An indication that this could happen soon was a video conference which brought together the company’s CEO and founder, Brian Armstrong, and the president of the central bank, Roberto Campos Neto, which took place on May 16.
The BC president has held meetings with representatives of the main global exchanges operating in Brazil to address issues such as regulation and the adoption cryptocurrencies by the population, in addition to discussing the risks to investors of this asset class in the face of uncertainties in the macroeconomic scenario.
Although it has become first company in the cryptocurrency industry to feature in the Fortune 500 ranking, Coinbase has found itself embroiled in a number of controversies in recent times, including insider trading accusations, in which an investor would have had access to privileged information, and the suspicion that the company could take possession of its customers’ cryptocurrencies in bankruptcy, which Armstrong immediately denied.
Commercially, the exchange is not going through its best phase either. The company registered a net loss of $430 million in the first quarter this year due to the reduction in revenue from the platform’s trading fees. The company’s shares are operating down more than 80% from its all-time high. And finally, Coinbase has just lost the second largest exchange in the world by trading volume to FTX.
Meanwhile, in Brazil the company went back on its plans to acquire the 2TM group and, consequently, Mercado Bitcoin, currently the largest exchange in Brazil.
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