The Central Bank of Ireland fined Coinbase Ireland €3,252,618 for breaching rules on safeguarding customer funds, marking its second penalty in less than a year.
On Thursday, the Central Bank of Ireland announced that it had fined Coinbase Ireland €3,252,618, equivalent to approximately $3.6 million, for breaching rules on safeguarding customer funds and outsourcing services under Ireland’s Electronic Money Regulations. The breaches occurred between November 2020 and August 2025.
The fine was reduced by 30% from the original €4,646,597 after Coinbase Ireland reached a settlement with the regulator on 21 October. However, the decision will take effect only once confirmed by the Irish High Court.
Coinbase Ireland is a crypto-asset firm within the Coinbase Group, responsible for issuing e-money that customers use to purchase crypto-assets on the platform. According to the regulator, the most serious breach was the company’s excessive reliance on its US parent to carry out procedures for safeguarding customer funds, as required by Irish and European Union (EU) law. The company also lacked suitably qualified staff in Ireland to oversee this activity, while the dedicated account used to safeguard customer funds remained underfunded for an extended period. The Central Bank of Ireland also identified shortcomings in the internal control system and the company’s failure to notify it of significant changes to its customer-fund safeguarding arrangements.
Coinbase Ireland admitted to the breaches. Karen O’Leary, the Central Bank of Ireland’s Director of Enforcement, stressed that payment firms and crypto-asset firms have a fundamental obligation to fully safeguard customer funds, and that the regulator will not accept any weaknesses in these arrangements. In her view, failing to fulfil commitments made when applying for authorisation, or failing to report significant changes, is wholly unacceptable.
Risks of a “single gateway” model for accessing the EU market
This is not the first time Coinbase’s European operations have faced action from the Irish regulator. Previously, Coinbase Europe, another entity within the group, was fined €21.5 million by the Central Bank of Ireland for breaches related to anti-money laundering controls.
Coinbase chose Ireland as its EU operating hub before the UK left the bloc, initially operating under an e-money licence. The company later also obtained authorisation under the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), allowing it to provide services throughout the bloc through the cross-border passporting regime.
The penalty was announced as Coinbase steps up its expansion in Europe, having recently launched crypto-asset futures products for traders in the region. The case highlights the legal risks of an exchange relying on a single country to access the EU market. It also sends a clear signal from Ireland that obtaining a licence is not the end of the process: firms must fully honour the commitments they made to gain market access.