The Central Bank of the Netherlands fined the crypto exchange Coinbase for $3.6 million for non-compliance: it did not register its crypto services for customers in the Netherlands, writes Business Insider.

Between November 2020 and August 2022, the company made do without proper registration under the Dutch Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Act to operate in the country.

The fine was higher than usual due to the seriousness and degree of culpability of the firm, the bank said in a statement, which nevertheless took into account the fact that Coinbase is one of the largest crypto service providers and has a significant number of customers in the Netherlands.

Coinbase also enjoyed a competitive advantage in that it did not pay any supervisory fees or other costs in connection with the bank’s regular supervisory activities.

However, the bank had to later reduce the fine by 5% because Coinbase still intends to obtain registration. The crypto exchange has until March 2 to appeal the fine.

The Coinbase exchange itself does not agree with this decision of the bank, because, according to its representative,

“We actively cooperate with the Central Bank and are proud to be the first major global crypto exchange to successfully register in the Netherlands as a crypto service provider. We should not be penalized for playing by the rules and participating in the process.”

The bank also fined rival Coinbase and the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance $3.35 million last year.