Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in North America, is intensifying its focus on global expansion, particularly in Asia. While the company faces strong competition in many international markets, it is advancing its internationalization strategy.
John O’Loghlen, APAC Managing Director of Coinbase and Country Director for Australia, recently discussed the exchange’s global ambitions and regulatory challenges. A New Zealand native based in Sydney, O’Loghlen brings international experience from roles with Chinese companies, including Alibaba. In the interview, he highlights Coinbase’s work to adapt its products for different markets, navigate diverse regulatory landscapes, and develop its Base Network.
How internationalized and globalized is Coinbase?
Our history lies in North America, with over 100 million consumers. For more than eight years, we’ve operated internationally, with hubs in 10 global markets where we’re fully registered, including Brazil, Canada, the US, the UK, Germany, Holland, France, Ireland, Singapore, and Australia.
Brian Armstrong has strongly emphasized an international-first approach. We’re catching up in derivatives and perpetual products, areas where Asian exchanges have been quicker. To compete, we launched our INTX exchange in Bermuda.
We’ve established “growth pods” in EMEA, the Americas, and APAC. The APAC pod, based in Singapore, collaborates with platform teams to localize products. We’re about two-thirds of the way through adapting our North American app, and we’ve been tailoring products to local markets, as we’ve done in Australia for two years.
As you expand internationally, do you find that all the features and products you offer in the US are necessary or suitable for other markets? Or do you need to adapt them?
I’ll give you an example: pricing on a subscription model like CB1 (Coinbase One). We historically had a strong commitment to a global pricing model. CB1 is our subscription product where you pay an annual fee.
If you’re trading a lot, it works out to be an advantageous product. You also get incentives, loyalty points, rewards, and different levels of white glove service.
We’ve found that in some markets, the subscription amount if we were to automatically calculate it from US dollars, may be too low too high, or completely out of line with other subscription services in that market. People often think of subscriptions like Netflix. We have to make sure we’re in the ballpark for what’s relevant in those cultures.
Often, what’s relevant in those cultures or local markets has been driven by the best-in-class local exchange. In many instances, we’re catching up quickly with well-entrenched local exchanges who’ve been there for 10 years or more.
How do you see the upcoming elections, particularly in the US, influencing the global crypto landscape and regulatory environment?
Crypto is a bipartisan and nonpartisan issue. Both sides of the House, along with independent parties, are recognizing its importance. They understand that losing this demographic isn’t an option. In the US, over 50 million people hold crypto — more than those holding union cards or owning electric vehicles. It’s a significant voting bloc.
In the next 12 months, we’re going to see two billion plus people voting in some of the largest, most populous economies in the world. We have a seat at the table now as an industry, technology, and innovation.
In the US, we have a well-funded Super PAC called Fairshake. We’ve probably had more success on the Democratic side because Republicans have been natively more interested in crypto. Now we’ve got an equal level of support from both sides of the House.
Whether we like it or not, a lot of people look to the US as a leading force in the world. What happens there does influence what happens in other places. That’s the case with the SEC.
Can you describe Coinbase’s current relationship with the US SEC?
Not particularly good, but it’s an ongoing relationship.
We’ve had some successes and remain constantly vigilant. Our legal teams are exceptional, confident in our positions, and committed to being a responsible actor with all regulatory agencies.
We collaborate with the FBI, global intelligence teams, securities agencies, and consumer watchdogs. We see ourselves as a vital part of the broader technological and financial industries.
Unfortunately, we’re getting targeted by the SEC through regulation through enforcement because there isn’t the regulation there yet. We see some green shoots like FIT21 and other things that have been tabled and come to the attention of leading members of Congress. But it’s still in movement.
What’s Coinbase’s vision for Base Network, and how are you working towards its development and adoption?
It’s really about this broader goal of a billion people on-chain. If you bring a billion people on-chain, we need to have nearly free gas fees and very fast speed, even when things are surging.
Base is about getting all of the most innovative and utility use cases on-chain. It initially appealed to people in North America for about a year, and now increasingly in other geos, particularly in Asia.
We’ve made sure to keep the Base team driving their project and making their own decisions and to be seen as authentic and not something that’s being chilled by Coinbase. We’re deploying Base ambassadors into different markets but it’s a lot more community driven.
They’re not Coinbase employees, but they’re the ones holding meetups, hackathons, and Base Days. The ambassadors qualify to have launched one or multiple projects on Base.
How amazing this community momentum is that 600 side events were going on in Singapore during the week of TOKEN2049, and one percent of those, 6 events were Base events. They were not organized by Coinbase and my colleagues and I went to talk as guest speakers.
These are all organically sprouting up like mushrooms. It’s a super exciting time but it’ll keep evolving.
Can you share any upcoming initiatives or strategic focus areas for Coinbase in the Asia-Pacific region?
This accredited investor launch is really important for us in Singapore. It’s very important to the MAS. We spend a lot of time with them. It’s incredibly important with our brand that we be the best actor in the region.
We’re sponsoring the Melbourne Marathon in Australia. We’ve never sponsored any sporting events in Australia. We also had people up at Korea Blockchain Week. We announced a big announcement with HYBE’s subsidiary. We’re looking at this region holistically, but we have to prioritize where we spend our budget and where we want to apply our strategy.
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