Coinbase Global's fines reach $181 million after the Central Bank of Ireland issued a €21.5 million fine

Coinbase, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has faced mounting regulatory scrutiny over the past few years. From anti-money laundering (AML) failures to securities violations, the company has paid over $181 million in fines globally.

Overview

The Central Bank of Ireland has imposed a €21.5 million fine (approximately $24.7 million) on Coinbase Europe Limited, the European arm of the U.S.-based crypto exchange, for failures in its transaction monitoring system between 2021 and 2022. The penalty follows technical lapses that left gaps in anti-money laundering (AML) compliance.

What Happened?

According to Cointelegraph: [cointelegraph.com]

• Cause of Failure: Three coding errors in Coinbase’s monitoring system affected five of its 21 compliance scenarios. These errors prevented the proper screening of specific crypto addresses separated by special characters.
• Impact: The system only partially monitored transactions for suspicious activity during the period.
• Discovery & Fix: Coinbase detected the issue through internal testing, fixed it within weeks, and reviewed all affected transactions.

Key Figures

• Fine Amount: €21.5 million ($24.7 million)
• Affected Transactions: 185,000 flagged transactions reviewed
• Suspicious Transaction Reports Filed: 2,700 reports totalling $15 million
• Total Value of Transactions During Period: Over $202 billion (31% of Coinbase Europe’s transactions)
• Average Annual Revenue Basis for Fine: Estimated $480 million in Ireland between 2021 and 2024

Regulatory Context

As a registered Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) in Ireland, Coinbase is required to maintain robust systems to detect and report potential money-laundering risks under Irish AML laws.

Coinbase’s Response

Coinbase stated that it has enhanced oversight and compliance testing to prevent similar issues. Updates include:

• Stricter pre-deployment reviews
• Expanded scenario testing
• Continuous improvements to detect evolving high-risk activity

The company emphasised its commitment to AML compliance:

“Coinbase recognises the importance of effective AML procedures and takes our obligations under AML legislation and regulatory guidance very seriously.” (Source). [cointelegraph.com]

Previous fines

It seems that Coinbase has been in trouble before

Known Fines Against Coinbase

1. €21.5 million fine by the Central Bank of Ireland (2025)
• Reason: Failure to monitor over 30 million transactions worth €176 billion between April 2021 and March 2025 due to coding errors in its transaction monitoring system.
• Details: Initial fine was €30.66 million, reduced by 30% under Ireland’s settlement process.
• Source: France24. [france24.com]

1. $100 million fine by the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) (January 2023)
• Reason: Weaknesses in Coinbase’s compliance program, including failures in transaction monitoring and customer due diligence.
• Details: NYDFS cited “significant failures” in AML compliance and required Coinbase to invest $50 million in compliance improvements.
• Source: Reuters. [finance.yahoo.com]

1. $6.5 million fine by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) (March 2021)
• Reason: Allegations of misleading reporting and wash trading on Coinbase’s GDAX platform between 2015 and 2018.
• Source: CFTC Press Release. [finance.yahoo.com]

1. $50 million penalty by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) (2024) (related to staking services)
• Reason: Operating an unregistered securities offering through its staking-as-a-service program.
• Source: SEC Announcement. [finance.yahoo.com]

Further Reading

https://cointelegraph.com/news/coinbase-settles-with-ireland-over-monitoring-errors

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20251106-crypto-giant-coinbase-fined-in-ireland-for-rule-breaches

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/coinbase-just-got-fined-21-155825363.html?guccounter=1