Barclays Helps Coinbase Enter UK Market
Exchanges, News, Trending March 14, 2018 Comments Off on Barclays Helps Coinbase Enter UK Market 104Barclays BCS -1.02% PLC has become a rare global bank to embrace the cryptocurrency sector by signing exchange operator Coinbase as a customer.
Deposits from Coinbase users in the U.K. will be held in a new customer account at Barclays, Coinbase UK Chief Executive Zeeshan Feroz said Wednesday, amid what he called “a huge surge of interest” in the country to trade bitcoin and other digital currencies.
Mr. Feroz said the European Union, led by the U.K., was Coinbase’s fastest-growing market in 2017. The San Francisco-based startup, one of the most prominent bitcoin-focused businesses, plans to have hundreds of people working in its London headquarters by the end of the year, up from dozens now.
Working with Coinbase is a big stride for Barclays into a sector that many banks have so far shunned for being too risky. Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies aren’t backed or controlled by any government, and global regulators are still grappling with how to supervise trade in the currencies and related activities.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/courting-crypto-barclays-breaks-rank-with-coinbase-deal-1521047324
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