In brief – The Central Bank of Ireland fined Coinbase Ireland €3,252,618 (about $3.6 million) for breaching safeguarding and outsourcing rules between November 2020 and August 2025. – Regulators found the firm relied too heavily on its U.S. parent for compliance, lacked local…
ersight expertise, and let its designated safeguarding account stay underfunded for lengthy periods; Coinbase admitted the breaches. – It’s Ireland’s second action against Coinbase’s European business in the last year. Coinbase’s Irish arm has been fined roughly $3.6 million by the Central Bank of Ireland for failing to properly protect customer funds, the regulator’s second enforcement action against the exchange’s European operations in less than a year
The regulator said Thursday it penalized Coinbase Ireland €3,252,618 for breaching safeguarding and outsourcing rules under the country’s Electronic Money Regulations between November 2020 and August 2025. The figure reflects a 30% discount off a €4,646,597 penalty for settling, which Coinbase Ireland reached with the regulator on Oct. 21. The sanction still requires confirmation by Ireland’s High Court before taking effect.
Coinbase Ireland is an e-money institution within the broader Coinbase Group, issuing the digital money customers use to buy crypto on the platform. The Central Bank found three main failures: the company leaned too heavily on its U.S.-based parent to handle safeguarding processes required under Irish and EU rules, lacked enough local expertise to oversee the protection of customer funds, and allowed its designated safeguarding account to be underfunded for lengthy periods. It also faulted the firm’s internal controls and its failure to flag material safeguarding changes to the regulator.