Coinbase Exchange, the largest crypto exchange by trading volume in the US, has reopened business to residents of the state of Hawaii after seven years. Coinbase (COIN) announced the news on August 13, 2024, with a press release on their site expressing their excitement in being able to provide services to Hawaiian residents.
Regulatory Changes Clear Way for Coinbase
The Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Division of Financial Institutions (DFI) has changed a key regulatory matter which means that Coinbase Exchange can reopen services to Hawaiian residents.
Previously, crypto exchanges offering services to Hawaii had to maintain fiat reserves in an amount equal to the total value of the digital assets held on behalf of customers. This essentially prevented any crypto exchange from offering services to Hawaii, and was the reason why Coinbase pulled its services from the state seven years ago.
The Hawaii Digital Currency Innovation Lab pilot program is the main reason for the DFI to have relaxed the requirement, and now Hawaiian residents can:
- Buy, sell, and manage crypto with ease: New Hawaii customers can get started in just a few minutes, and use the app to access hundreds of cryptocurrencies, set up recurring buys, earn rewards, track prices, and transfer crypto internationally.
- Participate in the crypto economy: Hawaii customers now access a suite of crypto services, including staking, where they can earn up to 12% APY in staking rewards on popular cryptocurrencies. Eligible Hawaii users can also earn up to 5.20% in rewards by holding USDC.
- Access powerful tools for pros: Sophisticated traders can access 500+ spot pairs with as low as 0.0% maker fees, charting powered by TradingView, and powerful APIs.
Regulatory Changes Continue
The change by the Hawaiian DFI is just another step forward for the cryptocurrency sector, which has already seen some welcome change with the approval of both Bitcoin and Ethereum spot market ETF products.
Coinbase continues to battle with the SEC over the accusation that they operated as an unregistered securities exchange, an accusation that they are counter suing the SEC over.
As more and more of these regulatory cases are settled, there will be increased clarity for both crypto businesses and market participants. This is something that is required if the industry wants to become the mainstream, disruptive technology that it wants to be.
