The Central Bank of Ireland has fined Coinbase Ireland Limited €3,252,618 for breaching its safeguarding and outsourcing duties.

The breaches took place between 1 November 2020 and 19 August 2025, and both parties settled on 21 October 2026.

Coinbase Ireland is an e-money firm within the Coinbase Group. It issues and redeems e-money in exchange for fiat currency.

Customers use this e-money to buy crypto assets on the group’s platform. The Central Bank found that the firm fell short in three areas.

First, it relied too heavily on its US parent to run the controls needed to meet Irish and EU rules.

It also lacked the local expertise to oversee how customer funds were kept safe.

Second, weak system design and limited testing meant the firm did not fully protect customer funds.

As a result, its safeguarding account was underfunded for long periods.

Finally, the firm lacked proper checks to find material changes in how it kept funds safe and report them to the regulator.

Coinbase Ireland admitted the breaches and agreed to the facts in the settlement notice.

The Central Bank set the penalty at €4,646,597 and issued a reprimand. A 30% settlement discount reduced the fine to €3,252,618.

The firm has accepted both sanctions. They will take effect once the High Court confirms them.

Karen O’Leary, Director of Enforcement at the Central Bank of Ireland, said payment and e-money firms have a core duty to fully protect customer funds.

She added that firms must keep the commitments they make when seeking a licence and report material changes.

O’Leary described failing to do so, as in this case, as completely unacceptable.

Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Switzerland, based on image by Coinbase via its website and Abdullahh via Magnific.