In a landmark enforcement move, the Central Bank of Ireland has issued its first-ever fine against a cryptocurrency company, targeting Coinbase Europe with a €21.5 million ($24.8 million) penalty for serious compliance failures. The fine, announced on November 6, 2025, highlights growing regulatory scrutiny over how major exchanges monitor illicit financial activity, and sets a precedent for how European authorities may act in the months ahead.
How the Breach Happened
Between April 2021 and March 2025, Coinbase Europe reportedly failed to properly monitor over 30 million transactions, totaling more than €176 billion. The Central Bank found that three technical coding errors caused the company to miss transaction screenings across five separate monitoring systems, allowing suspicious activity to go unnoticed for months. While Coinbase eventually identified and corrected the issue, the bank noted that it took the exchange nearly three years to complete the retroactive monitoring process, a delay regulators described as unacceptable.
Delayed Detection Leads to Criminal Findings
Once monitoring was restored, Coinbase reported 2,708 suspicious transactions to Ireland’s Financial Intelligence Unit, with several linked to serious criminal activities, including drug trafficking, cyberattacks, and child exploitation. The Central Bank said these failures “posed an unacceptable risk to the integrity of Ireland’s financial system,” adding that crypto firms must meet the same standards as traditional banks when it comes to AML (anti-money laundering) and CTF (counter-terrorist financing) obligations.
Fine Details and Broader Implications
- •Original Fine: €30.7 million (reduced by 30% under settlement terms)
- •Final Amount: €21.5 million
- •Revenue Basis: Calculated from Coinbase Europe’s average annual revenue of €417 million
- •Next Step: The fine awaits formal confirmation by the Irish High Court
Coinbase Europe accepted the decision, acknowledging the technical issues but emphasizing that no customers were directly affected and that new automated safeguards have been implemented.
Why It Matters
This enforcement marks a turning point in Europe’s approach to crypto compliance. Ireland, home to Coinbase’s European headquarters, is increasingly positioning itself as a regulatory testing ground for digital asset oversight ahead of the EU’s MiCA framework coming fully into effect in 2026. The case sends a clear signal: even the most established exchanges are not beyond the reach of regulators.