Coinbase, the largest crypto broker in the US, prepares official arrival in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency broker in the US, is betting on Brazilian regulation and the popularization of the segment to gain market share in the country.

The company, which already has 40 people in Brazil, is preparing for its official landing in the coming months, even though the most recent “crypto winter” led to the layoff of 1,100 employees in the US.

“Brazil remains a priority market for us,” said Nana Murugesan, Coinbase’s vice president of business development and head of international expansion.

“Due to the current market conditions, we had to make some tough decisions. However, international expansion remains a priority, and we will make the necessary hires to support critical functions,” Murugesan added.

The brokerage employs more than 5,000 people and has nearly 98 million users in 100 countries.

In Brazil, the operation is led by Fabio Plein, formerly of PicPay and Uber Eats, who intends to place Coinbase among the local market leaders, currently in the hands of Binance and MB (formerly Mercado Bitcoin).

The Brazilian subsidiary is expected to have 130 employees in a permanent home office scheme. “We want to make Brazil a success case at Coinbase. It is a key country,” Plein said.

The plan for Brazil is to offer its entire shelf of 170 digital assets. Coinbase works with so-called staking, in which the user receives passive income by lending cryptocurrencies to help validate transactions on certain blockchain networks.

The brokerage also has a self-custody digital wallet, which gives access to the web3 ecosystem regardless of network, blockchain, country, or currency.

The brokerage firm is betting on the so-called Marco Cripto, which is in its final stages in Congress, to stimulate business with crypto-assets and bring more institutional investors and individuals to this market.

In the evaluation of Murugesan, who participated earlier this month in an event with the president of the Central Bank, Roberto Campos Neto, Brazilian regulation should be “market-friendly”.

“The crypto community should build products responsibly, and it is the role of the government to ensure smart and proper regulation. All players in the crypto economy need to think of regulation ‘looking forward’.

“We are optimistic about the future of cryptocurrencies in Brazil and excited to know that Brazilian regulators and government officials understand the benefits of the crypto sector,” he said.

In addition to favorable regulation, the executive considers Brazilians to be particularly open to adopting technological novelties, as shown by the membership of Pix, which fosters the local crypto economy.

“The potential for crypto-actives in Brazil is enormous, and we see regulation as an enabler. Brazilians are seen as early adopters of new technologies and are open to financial innovation.

“From technologies to improve payments to microfinance projects, provide inflation protection tools and access to capital, Brazil’s entrepreneurial culture is well-positioned to lead Latin America in web3,” he said.

According to Murugesan, networks using this technology are open to the point of removing borders, creating opportunities for players regardless of country. “This technology allows everyone in the world to transact on shared networks. We are here to adapt global products to the needs of Brazil,” he said.

Murugesan avoided discussing possible expansion plans through acquisitions in Brazil, leaving the matter to Coinbase Ventures, the group’s venture capital investment arm that has stakes in Brazilian asset manager Hashdex and Mexican-based exchange Bitso.

At the beginning of the year, Coinbase was interested in buying Mercado Bitcoin, but the negotiations would have collapsed after the sharp drop in the broker’s stock price in the US. This year alone, Coinbase’s stock has plummeted 78%.

With information from Valor Econômico