Coinbase appoints Solarisbank exec to spearhead Europe assault

Listed crypto exchange Coinbase has hired the chief operating officer of German finance tech firm Solarisbank to spearhead its charge into Europe as it seeks crypto approval in key European markets.

Daniel Seifert has joined Coinbase as vice president, and regional managing director of EMEA.

He will be based in Berlin in his role and oversee the EMEA region.

Coinbase said his role will include “driving business growth in Europe, furthering Coinbase’s mission and culture in the region, hiring top local talent, supporting major regulatory/policy efforts, and subsequently ensuring that Coinbase operates in full compliance with applicable local regulatory requirements”.

Seifert had spent two years at Solarisbank, before which he had worked at UBS for five years, as head of operations and customer support.

Before that, he had spent nine years at McKinsey as a senior associate and associate partner.

The appointment of Seifert comes as the San Francisco-based firm looks to fill several key roles as it plans an assault on European markets amid fears of further turbulence in the crypto market.

Coinbase is seeking crypto approval in key European markets like UK, France, and Spain and has secured regulatory registration in Italy and the Netherlands.

It has a presence in the UK, Ireland and Germany but wants to ramp up its presence in other key European markets, as it looks towards European markets to drive growth.

Coinbase last year made headlines by becoming the biggest fintech to go public on the stock market in a $100bn direct listing but this year has been hit by the recent tumult in cryptocurrency markets.

In June this year, it said was cutting nearly a fifth of its workforce, nearly 1,110 employees, joining rivals like Crypto.com and Gemini in making extensive lay-offs.

Coinbase chief executive Brian Armstrong admitted the company had grown too quickly and refused to rule out further job cuts.