TLDR
- The Central Bank of Ireland fined Coinbase Ireland 3.25 million euros ($3.6 million) over safeguarding and outsourcing failures.
- The regulator said Coinbase Ireland relied too heavily on its U.S. parent company to run safeguarding controls.
- During Silvergate’s 2023 collapse, 30 customers were told to deposit funds into an alternate account, mixing their money with other Coinbase customers’ funds.
- Coinbase says no customer lost money or lost access to funds.
- The fine needs approval from Ireland’s high court and follows a 21.4 million euro anti-money laundering penalty from last year.
Ireland’s central bank has fined Coinbase Ireland 3.25 million euros, or about $3.6 million. The penalty relates to alleged breaches of rules on safeguarding customer funds and overseeing outsourced services.
LATEST: 🇮🇪 Central Bank of Ireland has fined Coinbase Ireland €3.25M for failing to properly safeguard customer funds and oversee outsourcing, with the penalty still needing High Court confirmation. pic.twitter.com/5yV01jj3WC
— CoinMarketCap (@CoinMarketCap) October 22, 2026
The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) announced the action on Thursday. It covers failures between 2020 and 2025.
What the Regulator Found
The CBI said Coinbase Ireland did not set up an adequate framework to govern its outsourcing. The exchange is the Irish arm of Coinbase Global.
Safeguarding and outsourcing rules protect customer money. Firms must keep customer funds properly funded and monitored. They must also report material changes to the regulator.
The CBI said the company placed excessive reliance on the U.S.-based Coinbase Group to put safeguarding processes in place. It also said customer funds were not adequately protected because of poor system design and weak control testing.
In its notice, the regulator said Coinbase Ireland had “admitted the prescribed contraventions” and agreed to the undisputed facts. The company settled for the fine.
The Silvergate Issue and Other Errors
Coinbase gave more detail in a statement after the CBI’s announcement. In 2023, crypto-friendly bank Silvergate was close to collapse. Coinbase told 30 customers to deposit funds into another account it held at a different U.S. bank.
That meant their funds were held alongside money from customers of another Coinbase entity. This breached safeguarding requirements.
Coinbase also said euro withdrawals for some U.S. and U.K. customers were paid from Coinbase Ireland’s safeguarding account. In addition, coding errors left the account underfunded by an average of 0.54% in 2023 and the first half of 2024.
Coinbase said no customer suffered a financial loss. It also said no customer was ever unable to access their funds.
Karen O’Leary, the CBI’s enforcement director, said firms in Ireland must have the right culture and expertise to follow the rules. She said the action shows the bank’s focus on protecting customers and keeping the financial system sound.
The company’s user agreement says it uses a mix of service providers, some inside the Coinbase Group and some outside it, to deliver its services.
Coinbase launched in Ireland in 2018. It received an e-money license from the central bank in 2019 and was registered as a virtual asset service provider in 2022.
The penalty comes almost one year after the CBI fined Coinbase Europe 21.4 million euros. That fine was for breaching anti-money laundering rules between 2021 and 2025.
The sanctions against Coinbase Ireland still need approval from Ireland’s high court before they take effect.
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