Coinbase, Exchanges

Why Did I Get an Email From Coinbase?

If you’re a Coinbase user, you may have recently gotten an email from the company that looks like this:

“We’re sorry, but we can no longer provide services to residents of the state of New York.”

If you live in New York, this probably came as a surprise. After all, Coinbase is one of the most popular and well-funded cryptocurrency exchanges in operation today. So why would they suddenly stop serving customers in your state?

NOTE: WARNING: Be aware of suspicious emails from Coinbase. If you receive an email from Coinbase which requests confidential information such as your username, password or other sensitive information, do not respond or click on any links in the email. Coinbase will never send emails asking for personal information, and any emails claiming to be from Coinbase should be treated with caution. If you receive an email that appears to be from Coinbase, please contact Coinbase Support immediately for assistance.

The answer has to do with regulations. You see, in order to operate in New York, Coinbase would need to apply for and obtain a so-called “BitLicense” from the state’s Department of Financial Services.

The BitLicense was created in 2015 in response to the growing popularity of Bitcoin, and it’s designed to regulate businesses that deal in digital currencies.

Coinbase had applied for a BitLicense back in 2017, but it was never approved. The company says that it decided to stop serving New York customers because it didn’t want to deal with the “cost and complexity” of complying with the state’s regulations.

This is unfortunate news for New Yorkers who were using Coinbase, but it’s not entirely surprising. The BitLicense has been criticized by some as being too onerous and burdensome, and it’s likely that other cryptocurrency exchanges will make similar decisions in the future.

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