Coinbase Enters Canadian Market, Expands Bitcoin Services to 27 Countries

Coinbase, the leading company in the Bitcoin industry, has received a total of $106.7 million in investment after four rounds of venture capital financing. In January this year, after Coinbase completed a $75 million Series C financing, the platform's CEO Brian Armstrong made a bold statement that the company's services would be expanded to 30 countries by the end of 2015.

On September 1, Coinbase announced its entry into the Canadian market, bringing the number of countries served by the company to 27.

This move means that Canadian residents can use Canadian dollars to buy and sell Bitcoin. In addition, they can also deposit Canadian dollars into Coinbase Bitcoin wallets and use the Coinbase platform to trade Canadian dollars/Bitcoin.

In an interview with reporters, Armstrong explained that although the company's launch in more developed regions has been successful so far, expanding its services to developing markets still requires active efforts.
Armstrong said:

“It’s not a market we want to launch in first, it’s really more of a partnership thing. But there are definitely a lot of people in Canada who are interested in bitcoin and they haven’t had an easy way to trade it before.”

It is worth noting that the platform’s CAD/BTC trading order book will be independent, which means that users of the US exchange will not be able to access the trading pair using their US accounts.

“There are certain advantages to trading multiple currency pairs, but we are more concerned about regulatory issues,” Armstrong continued.

In addition, Coinbase also stated that the platform will waive retail exchange fees for Bitcoin economic services until September 6th.

Business Model

Regarding Coinbase’s long-term profit model, Armstrong said the company may add additional financial products, including derivatives trading.

However, he also admitted that it is difficult for the entire industry, including wallets and exchanges, to increase operating income, but he believes that Coinbase occupies a very advantageous position because the company has established a trustworthy reputation in the industry.

“This is a bigger model than Apple and Walmart,” he continued. “I think the consumer business will be viable and profitable, and it allows us to offer a free developer platform.”

Finally, he reiterated that Coinbase is seeking to build an open, efficient payment network for its global user base, and highlighted the company’s service in Canada as another step toward that goal.

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