Coinbase Europe Fined $24.8M for AML Blunders 🤯

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Coinbase Europe was fined $24.8 million by the Central Bank of Ireland for failing to follow the rules. Again. 🤷‍♂️

The Penalty and Violations

The Central Bank of Ireland has slapped Coinbase Europe with a $24.8 million (€21,464,734) fine for not doing their AML homework. Between April 2021 and March 2025, they basically ignored the rules. 🚫

Coinbase Europe, a subsidiary of the global Coinbase Group, offers crypto services to users worldwide. As a virtual asset provider, they’re supposed to monitor transactions like a hawk. But apparently, they’re more like a sleepy owl. 🦉

In a press release, the Central Bank revealed that over 30 million transactions-worth $203 billion-were left unmonitored. That’s like leaving your bank account open to a swarm of robbers. 🤯

The exchange took nearly three years to catch up on monitoring, resulting in 2,708 suspicious reports. These reports flagged everything from money laundering to child exploitation. Because nothing says “criminal activity” like crypto. 🧐

Deputy Governor Colm Kincaid said the breaches were serious. “Crypto’s anonymity makes it perfect for criminals,” he said. Well, duh. That’s the whole point. 🤡

“Crypto has features that make it attractive to criminals. That’s why firms need better controls,” he added. Yeah, because nothing says “trust us” like a fine print disclaimer. 📜

Coinbase admitted to the violations, including failing to monitor 30 million transactions. They also missed 184,790 others. Because who has time to check every single one? 🕒

FAQ 🧠

  • Why was Coinbase Europe fined? They didn’t monitor 30 million crypto transactions. Duh. 🤔
  • How much is the fine? $24.8 million. For 2021-2025. What even is time? ⏳
  • What was flagged? Money laundering, fraud, cybercrime, and child exploitation. Because crypto is so family-friendly. 👶
  • What’s next? Maybe they’ll finally implement a working AML system. Or maybe not. 🤷‍♀️

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2025-11-07 09:03