The largest U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase has accepted a multi-million dollar fine for allegedly being too lax in its anti-money laundering precautions in New York State. The company will pay a total of $100 million (€94 million) as part of a settlement, the New York financial regulator DFS announced yesterday. The authority added a penalty of $50 million to Coinbase. The group will invest a further $50 million in improving its control mechanisms.
The supervisors accused the crypto exchange of failing to screen customers before opening accounts adequately. This allowed criminal actors to access the trading platform, the New York Department of Financial Services said.
A statement from Coinbase was not initially available. However, investors reacted with relief to the settlement of the conflict with the authority, which had been ongoing for years, and caused the company’s shares to rise by more than ten percent.