Coinbase Ireland fined €3.25 million over fund safeguards

Coinbase Ireland has been fined €3.25 million by the Central Bank of Ireland for failures in protecting customer funds and overseeing outsourced work. The regulator said the issues could have made it harder for customers to recover their money if the company became insolvent.

The fine was announced on 22 October after a settlement reached the previous day, according to the Central Bank of Ireland’s announcement. Coinbase Ireland admitted the breaches and accepted a reprimand as well as the fine. The penalty still needs High Court confirmation before it takes effect.

What did the regulator say went wrong?

The Central Bank said Coinbase Ireland failed to meet rules for safeguarding customer funds and managing outsourced services between 1 November 2020 and 19 August 2025. Safeguarding means keeping customer money protected and properly accounted for.

The regulator said the company relied too heavily on its US-based Coinbase group to run safeguarding processes. Coinbase Ireland also lacked enough local expertise to oversee that work. The regulator cited weak system design, insufficient control testing and inadequate procedures for spotting and reporting important changes.

How were customer funds handled?

According to The Block’s report on the settlement, about 30 institutional clients deposited dollars into accounts held by Coinbase Inc. instead of accounts in the Irish company’s name from March 2023 to October 2024. Some funds belonging to customers who moved from Coinbase UK were also held in the UK entity’s safeguarding account until August 2025.

The report said daily safeguarding shortfalls reached €5.2 million in 2024. The Central Bank said Coinbase Ireland’s designated safeguarding account was underfunded for extended periods. It warned that customers might not have been able to promptly and fully recover funds if the Irish company had failed during those breaches.

How much is the fine, and what happens next?

The €3.25 million penalty reflects a 30% settlement discount from €4.65 million. Coinbase Ireland agreed to the settlement, and the Central Bank said the sanctions will take effect once confirmed by the High Court.

The Block reported that Coinbase said it had fixed the issues and that no customer lost money or was unable to access funds. The company also said it self-reported several problems to the Central Bank in January 2024. The regulator’s action focuses on whether the firm’s controls and oversight met its obligations, even where customers did not report losses.

Sources

• Central Bank of Ireland’s announcement — centralbank.ie
• The Block’s report on the settlement — theblock.co