Coinbase UK subsidiary fined $4.5 million by FCA

Quick Take

  • The Financial Conduct Authority fined CB Payments Limited just over 3.5 million GBP ($4.5 million).

CB Payments Limited, a part of Coinbase Group, has been fined just over 3.5 million British pounds ($4.5 million) by the Financial Conduct Authority for "repeatedly breaching a requirement that prevented the firm from offering services to high-risk customers."

"Despite the restrictions in place, CBPL onboarded and/or provided e-money services to 13,416 high-risk customers," the FCA said in a press release.

"Approximately 31 per cent of these customers deposited around USD $24.9 million," it added, noting: "These funds were used to make withdrawals and then execute multiple cryptoasset transactions via other Coinbase Group entities, totaling approximately USD $226 million."

The FCA claims CBPL lacked "due skill, care and diligence in the design, testing, implementation and monitoring of the controls put in place" to effectively meet the voluntary requirement.

The FCA's joint executive Director of Enforcement and Market Oversight, Therese Chambers, claimed "the money laundering risks associated with crypto are obvious" and noted that "firms must take them seriously."

This is the first time the FCA has taken enforcement action under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011.


Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.

© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.

AUTHOR

Adam is the managing editor for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He is based in central Europe and was a managing editor and podcast host at the crypto exchange OKX's former research arm, OKX Insights. Before that, he co-founded BeInCrypto.com, which he elevated into one of the leading crypto media brands at its peak as the editor-in-chief. Earlier, he served as the editor-in-chief at Bitcoinist.com. Before joining the blockchain and crypto industry, he worked for Looper.com, Grunge.com and SVG.com. He tweets via @XBT002 and can be emailed at [email protected].

See More

Editor

To contact the editor of this story: Vishal Chawla at [email protected]

WHO WE ARE

The Block is a news provider that strives to be the first and final word on digital assets news, research, and data.

+ Follow us on Google News
Connect with the block on