Coinbase’s global expansion lead Nana Murugesan departs

Nana Murugesan, vice president of international and business development of Coinbase, is leaving the company amid a global expansion drive by the U.S. exchange.

Murugesan said in a post on X today that he will leave the firm in the first quarter of next year but will stay on as an advisor until July.

“After an incredible two years working with Brian, Emilie and the team building the foundation for international growth, I’m moving on to my next adventure after staying on at Coinbase for some time to help with the transition,” Murugesan told The Block. “The team is now in good hands with regional managing directors and country directors now in place around the world.”

News of Murugesan’s planned departure comes with Coinbase placing heavy emphasis on international expansion while continuing to deal with disputes with regulators on its home turf. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission sued Coinbase in June over alleged violations of securities laws.

International expansion drive

In September, the company announced in a post — co-authored by Murugesan — that it had entered the second phase of its “Go Broad, Go Deep” strategy, a blueprint for its overseas push. Just last month, Coinbase obtained a full license in Singapore, paving the way for the exchange to offer a wider range of Digital Payment Token services in the region.

In a September interview with The Block, Murugesan said that Coinbase hopes to work with finance ministries, central banks and regulators to push for “certain principles that are shared amongst nations.”

“You’ll see Coinbase pretty active in these 24 countries,” Murugesan said at the time, referring to countries including the G20 members, together with Hong Kong, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and Singapore. “The goal being that we want to get to some sort of clarity and consensus and some sort of guiding principles as it relates to regulation of crypto and web3.”

A Coinbase spokesperson, who confirmed Murugesan’s departure today, told The Block the company is doubling down on the Go Broad, Go Deep plan after a year of “significant momentum.”

“Decentralizing our international operations helps us move faster and build local products for local markets to achieve our ambitious international goals,” they added.

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