Coinbase Expands Bitcoin Services to Latin America

     Coinbase is planning to expand its bitcoin buying and selling services to new Asian and Latin American markets in 2016.

     In an interview with Money20/20, product manager Adam White said the startup, which has raised more than $106 million to date, aims to be in 40 countries next year, and these regions will be the main areas of focus.

     In September, Coinbase announced its first launch in Asia, expanding to Singapore, though the company had not yet launched services in Latin America.

     White said a new announcement could come as early as December or January, and that the timing of the announcement would depend on Coinbase’s ability to meet local regulatory compliance.

He told CoinDesk:

    “We continue to view Coinbase as an infrastructure that provides a programmatic way to buy and sell.”

    Furthermore, White believes that Coinbase does not intend to launch a private blockchain product for enterprise businesses, as its competitor itBit did in August.

     White said Coinbase will likely continue to emphasize strategic partnerships with consumer-facing payment companies, as well as public investments in startups.

     Coinbase investors include BBVA Ventures, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and USAA, the latter of which recently launched a pilot program to offer Coinbase services to customers.

     When Coinbase announced its $75 million Series C funding round in January, CEO Brian Armstrong predicted that as many as 30 countries would be able to use the company’s services by the end of the year.

    Today, Coinbase’s services are available in 32 countries.