Coinbase, the leading U.S. marketplace for cryptocurrencies, is working on ways to expand its business as it tries to stay ahead of the competition.
The San Francisco-based company has made a series of announcements that pave the way towards supporting new crypto-assets, while reportedly stepping up its efforts to work with regulators.
In doing so, the nearly six-year-old company may help address whether certain digital assets are securities and find a way to legally trade those products.
“It seems like they’re laying the groundwork for supporting tokens from [the technical] side and from a regulatory standpoint as well,” said Scott Suh, research associate at Canaccord Genuity.
The start-up met with Securities and Exchange Commission officials in recent weeks to discuss registering as a licensed brokerage and electronic-trading venue, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the situation.
A source familiar with the situation confirmed to CNBC that the cryptocurrency company is in talks with the agency about registering its business. Coinbase declined to comment.
Having a brokerage license could make it easier for Coinbase to support more coins while complying with securities regulation, some analysts said.
The San Francisco-based company has made a series of announcements that pave the way towards supporting new crypto-assets, while reportedly stepping up its efforts to work with regulators.
In doing so, the nearly six-year-old company may help address whether certain digital assets are securities and find a way to legally trade those products.
“It seems like they’re laying the groundwork for supporting tokens from [the technical] side and from a regulatory standpoint as well,” said Scott Suh, research associate at Canaccord Genuity.
The start-up met with Securities and Exchange Commission officials in recent weeks to discuss registering as a licensed brokerage and electronic-trading venue, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the situation.
A source familiar with the situation confirmed to CNBC that the cryptocurrency company is in talks with the agency about registering its business. Coinbase declined to comment.
Having a brokerage license could make it easier for Coinbase to support more coins while complying with securities regulation, some analysts said.