Coinbase Launches Spot Trading of Bitcoin and Ether Outside the U.S.

Crypto exchange Coinbase will soon be offering the option to spot trade cryptocurrencies outside of the U.S. as part of its global expansion efforts, the company announced in a blog post Wednesday.

Starting Thursday, Coinbase’s international exchange will allow institutional customers to trade bitcoin and ether against the USDC stablecoin. Retail investors will have to wait a few more months to do the same and for other assets to be rolled out on the platform.

“Our primary focus at the outset will be to build liquidity and create a robust foundation,” the company stated.

Coinbase’s international exchange launched in May of this year, initially only as a derivatives exchange, a popular trading strategy among crypto investors that requires hefty oversight in the U.S.

The move came at a time where regulators in the U.S. started to heavily crack down on crypto companies, including Coinbase itself, which was sued and is still under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for allegedly violating federal securities laws. The exchange has moved to dismiss those allegations.