JB Graftieaux, CEO of Coinbase Luxembourg, on MiCA, the rise of euro stablecoins, and why the Grand Duchy anchors its European strategy.
Since securing its MiCA licence in June 2025, Coinbase has made Luxembourg the anchor of its European strategy. JB Graftieaux, CEO of Coinbase Luxembourg, explains why the Grand Duchy was the natural choice, how MiCA is reshaping the crypto landscape, and where he sees the company in five years.
We sat down with JB Graftieaux, CEO of Coinbase Luxembourg, to unpack the thinking behind the exchange’s European hub, the state of euro-denominated stablecoins, and how Coinbase plans to work with the Grand Duchy’s banks, funds and financial institutions in the years ahead.
“[…] a rare combination of regulatory credibility, institutional depth […]”
JB Graftieaux, CEO of Coinbase Luxembourg
Why Luxembourg? What makes the country strategic for Coinbase?
Luxembourg has long been a major financial hub in Europe, and has proven itself to be a potential centre for the future of digital finance. The country offers a rare combination of regulatory credibility, institutional depth, legal certainty, a clear focus on cross-border activity, and a government that is very welcoming to digital assets. It is these aspects that made it a natural choice for obtaining our MiCA license and opening our European hub.
Securing our licence in Luxembourg allows Coinbase to passport its products and services across the European Union, from one of its financial centres. Luxembourg’s traditional financial institutions already have the trust, scale and distribution that can help millions of consumers and businesses engage with digital assets through familiar channels and accelerate mainstream adoption. It is this trust that makes us committed to building for the long term and delivering the best product for European users from the Grand Duchy.
What has MiCA changed for Coinbase and its European strategy?
MiCA was a great step forward in crypto regulation across Europe, helping to bring the crypto economy to the continent in a regulated manner. Securing our MiCA licence in June 2025 enabled us to unite our efforts under a single framework, meaning millions of Europeans, across all 27 EU member states, can access regulated, trusted and secure crypto services.
The framework has created a strong foundation for us to continue bringing the future of finance to our customers across the EU. An example of this is our recent integration with Spiko, the French fintech company and leading tokenisation platform, which is allowing investors to enter and exit regulated mutual funds (UCITS) near-instantly using stablecoins, eliminating the traditional multi-day settlement gap and allowing institutional treasurers to move seamlessly between crypto and traditional assets 24/7.
The Commission’s recently announced consultations are a positive sign that the EU is not standing still, but is willing to adapt its regulatory framework as the market develops. We look forward to seeing how MiCA evolves to support continued innovation and growth across the crypto sector.
“[…]stablecoins are clearly moving into the financial mainstream […]”
JB Graftieaux, CEO of Coinbase Luxembourg
Are stablecoins about to become mainstream in financial markets?
Consumers and businesses globally have already embraced stablecoins. They are no longer a niche crypto tool, but quickly becoming central to global payments, offering speed, 24/7 availability, and lower costs than traditional payment systems. Coinbase Wallet last year processed over $17T in stablecoin volume across 26 local currencies and 17 countries, and our research with BVNK found that 27% of stablecoin holders already use them as an everyday payment method.
This trend is only continuing to grow, and we are seeing increasing demand for local currency-denominated stablecoins across Europe. In fact, these account for 85% of transfer volume in the non-US dollar stablecoin market, while the market capitalisation of euro stablecoins more than doubled in the 12 months following MiCA’s rollout. We have seen this demand first-hand, with EURC generating more than $70 million in transfer volume on Coinbase Wallet, further demonstrating the growing appetite for euro-denominated digital currencies.
At the same time, major payment processors are actively embedding stablecoins into everyday commercial infrastructure. For example, Checkout.com has launched stablecoin acceptance for eligible merchants across its network, powered by Coinbase Payments, and our collaboration with Shopify enables stablecoin payment on Coinbase Wallet. Between growing local-currency adoption, real demand, and a developing regulatory ecosystem, stablecoins are clearly moving into the financial mainstream.
How can Coinbase work with Luxembourg’s banks, funds and financial institutions?
Collaboration is a two-way street. Ultimately, our goal is to bridge the gap between traditional finance and crypto infrastructure, creating a coherent financial system that runs on the rails needed for today’s world. Partnerships such as our Spiko integration help bring crypto infrastructure and services to traditional financial institutions, while offerings such as our UK savings account — which we launched in collaboration with ClearBank — help bring traditional assets and crypto into one place.
Our ClearBank partnership is a great example of the kind of relationship we can build with Luxembourg’s financial institutions. Today, most users do not have a single, trusted platform that brings crypto and traditional finance together — they are stuck managing separate apps and separate accounts. We addressed this gap directly by launching an FSCS-protected GBP savings account through ClearBank. ClearBank’s regulated banking infrastructure gives the product the trust and protection consumers expect from a bank, while Coinbase brings the distribution, user experience, and broader reach that allows the product to sit alongside crypto trading and other financial tools. This is the kind of collaboration we are hoping to replicate here, and that can usher in the future of finance in Luxembourg and beyond.
“[…] an open, internet-native financial system to more people across the region […]”
JB Graftieaux, CEO of Coinbase Luxembourg
Where do you see Coinbase Luxembourg in five years?
Five years from now, we see Coinbase Luxembourg serving as one of Europe’s central hubs for the next generation of digital financial services, helping us continue to build our everything exchange in the region. As the core of our long-term European strategy, we aim to leverage the country’s solid foundation of regulatory credibility, institutional depth, and proactive approach to modernisation.
Ultimately, we see a future where more economic freedom is available to people across Luxembourg, and Europe more broadly. As one of our largest regions already, and as crypto adoption continues to grow and regulation evolves, Europe’s importance to Coinbase, with Luxembourg at the heart, is only increasing. That is a key driver behind our investment in Luxembourg and our ambition to make it the long-term hub for our European operations, helping to bring the benefits of an open, internet-native financial system to more people across the region.