- Coinbase is seeking to expand into Canada as it faces tough times at home.
- Coinbase launched an Ethereum layer-2 network last week.
- It is worth noting that a number of crypto exchanges have excited Canada in the recent past citing poor crypto environment.
Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange is extending its already solid grasp on the North American market by expanding into Canada.
Coinbase will also provide Canadian citizens with a free 30-day trial of its recently established subscription service Coinbase One in an effort to attract new consumers. Coinbase One emphasizes staking and offers free trading and top-notch customer care.
Canadian crypto market
According to Coinbase’s statement, the crypto exchange chose Canada as its new home because of the country’s supposed high level of “crypto-awareness” and solid regulatory environment. This stands in stark contrast to the legal problems the company is currently facing domestically.
After the US Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) sued the exchange for allegedly failing to register as a securities exchange while allegedly providing unregistered securities to its users, Coinbase has felt the heat from American regulators.
A group of thirty Canadian parliamentarians made international headlines in late June when they released a study backing cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology, along with 16 recommendations for the government of the nation to develop a national strategy on the subject.
However, despite the research, Canadian authorities have given conflicting signals on cryptocurrencies and many crypto businesses have stopped operating in the country or have withdrawn. Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by trading volume was the latest to exit Canada.
Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, harshly criticizes opposition figures who support cryptocurrency.
Coinbase feels the heat of the bear market
The expansion into Canada comes at a time when Coinbase, the world’s second-largest exchange by trading volume, is suffering from the effects of a long-lasting bear crypto market. The exchange reported a $96 million loss for the second quarter despite its financial results exceeding expectations.
Coinbase opened Base, an Ethereum layer-2 network, to the general public late last week in an effort to promote the creation of fresh decentralized applications within its ecosystem. Immediately after its launch, Base took off and quickly rose to the top five layer-2 networks by the quantity of bridged traffic.
The exchange has also been investigating how to incorporate Lightning Network, a layer-2 scalability solution for Bitcoin.