San Francisco-based digital currency exchange Coinbase will open a Canadian office in 2021 and has announced it will begin hiring, starting with technical and recruiting roles.
In a blog post, Grant D’Arcy, vice president of talent at Coinbase, stated the company is committed to being a “remote-first company,” meaning that new hires in Canada will have the opportunity to work anywhere in their country of hire. The opening of a new office is dependent on COVID-related conditions and the location of the office was not announced. The company has 19 open positions in Canada listed on its website.
Founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, Coinbase brokers exchanges of Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Tezos, and other cryptocurrencies. On December 17, the company announced it had submitted draft registration on a new securities filing on a Form F-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and is awaiting a review by the SEC. There is no date set for its IPO.
According to Capital.com, Coinbase has traded more than $320 billion USD in volume and has raised more than $500 million in equity financing. Coinbase has been described as America’s most valuable crypto company by the New York Times and was valued at $8 billion following a $300 million Series E funding round in 2018.
Coinbase is available in over 100 countries, and offers the ability to convert, buy and sell cryptocurrencies in Canada. Canadians have been able to use Coinbase’s exchange services in Canadian dollars since 2015.
The move by Coinbase to open a Canadian office increases competition in an already crowded marketplace. Canadian FinTech unicorn Wealthsimple launched a cryptocurrency platform in September, providing commission-free trading of Bitcoin and Ethereum under a two-year exemption from the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA). That same month Vancouver startup Netcoins applied for registration from the British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) and the CSA’s regulatory sandbox program.
Toronto-based Coinsquare is also racing to be the first regulated marketplace for digital assets. Following a recent settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), the company has begun a major overhaul of its business and tech to face new competitive pressures in the market.
Image source Coinbase via Facebook