Crypto exchange Coinbase has been fined $3.6 million by the Dutch central bank for offering crypto services to customers in the Netherlands without registering there.

Dutch law requires crypto providers to register under anti-money-laundering and terrorist-financing norms.

"The base amount [of the fine] has been increased due to the severity and degree of culpability of the noncompliance," the Dutch central bank said, adding that it had also taken account of the scale of Coinbase's Dutch customer base and the competitive advantage the exchange has gained by not paying supervisory fees.

Coinbase, which has until March 2 to object to the administrative fine, told CoinDesk it disagreed with the enforcement order and is "carefully considering the objections and appeals process."

The order "is based on the time it took for Coinbase to obtain our registration in the Netherlands and includes no criticism of our actual services," Coinbase spokeswoman MaryKate Collins said. "Coinbase is committed to compliance in all jurisdictions in which it operates and will continue to provide safe, trusted services to new and existing Dutch customers.

"We should not be penalized for playing by the rules and engaging in this process," Collins added.

Regulations Netherlands Coinbase Crypto Exchange

Jack Schickler

Jack Schickler was a CoinDesk reporter focused on crypto regulations, based in Brussels, Belgium. He previously wrote about financial regulation for news site MLex, before which he was a speechwriter and policy analyst at the European Commission and the U.K. Treasury. He doesn’t own any crypto.