Coinbase Expands Singapore Operations Amid Global Job Cuts

Coinbase, a Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange, plans to expand its Singapore operations and increase its headcount to about 200 by the end of 2026. This is in contrast to global job cuts announced earlier this year.

The company's country director for Singapore, Hassan Ahmed, stated that engineering, customer service, relationship management, and institutional sales will be the functions seeing the most growth.

Coinbase has already received its full major payment institution licence under the Payment Services Act in October 2023. The company sees a 'bright future' for crypto and stablecoins adoption in Singapore and the broader Asian region due to the country's clear regulatory framework, business-friendly environment, and strong capital flows.

Ahmed also pointed out that there has been a 'huge swell of interest' in tokenisation as regulators become more supportive worldwide. This includes Singapore's Monetary Authority of Singapore rolling out a tokenised bills pilot and stablecoin regulatory framework.