Coinbase enlarged its business in Europe by providing its bitcoin services for users in Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Ireland.
Californian bitcoin exchange Coinbase started providing its services to additional five countries in Europe last month. Citizens of Denmark, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Ireland are now able to purchase bitcoin through Coinbase.
Initially, the company launched its services in Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Austria, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Cyprus, Malta and Portugal.
Besides, Coinbase has raised its sell and buy limits to €2,000 per day for customers in Finland, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The company is currently the leading bitcoin service provider in the US. Having over 1.6 million users, the firm provides its merchant services to such giants as DISH, Expedia and Overstock.
With the expansion in Europe, Coinbase wants to bring digital currency to the new markets. The move comes after a number of other bitcoin exchange services were launched in Europe.
Thus, Coinify announced last week that Denmark-based venture capital firm SEED Capital invested in the company.
In an interview to CoinDesk, Coinify told it will use the investment to broaden its services to users. The investment’s amount was not disclosed, although SEED Capital wrote on its blog that the sum was “several million DKK”.
Meantime, SpectroCoin, based in Lithuania and UK, has launched its bitcoin processing solution for customers in Europe.
The company CEO Vytautas Karalevičius noted that capitalizing on bitcoin cross-border capabilities will be a key part of SpectroCoin’s strategy.
Spectrocoin will focus on companies that sell virtual goods, including tickets or services. The company has recently added 220volt, AirBaltic and Shipito to its books.
Karalevičius also noted that economies of scale are an important motivator for providing bitcoin wallet, exchange and merchant services.
European market is not yet part of Coinbase’s expansion strategy. Still, a number of startups were opened in the region, what will create competition if the firm decides to extend in Europe.
Some large European firms integrated bitcoin via Paymium, a bitcoin exchange with about 600,000 users.
France-based online retailer Showroomprive started accepting bitcoin payments on Tuesday. The company became the largest client of Paymium and the biggest bitcoin merchant in Europe.
BitPay, Coinbase’s main competitor, is also committed to expand in European market and is adding 200 merchants in the area to its service each week.
In January, BitPay closed a $30 million Series A round to further its influence in Europe. Among key investors in the region is Virgin Galactic’s Sir Richard Branson. The company opened its headquarters in Europe in April.
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