Coinbase Goes All-In on Stocks, Blurring the Line Between Crypto and Wall Street
With its most ambitious foray into traditional finance to date, Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) is allowing all US users to trade stocks and
Quick overview
- Coinbase has launched commission-free trading for stocks and ETFs, aiming to become an 'everything exchange' for US users.
- The platform now supports around 6,000 securities and plans to introduce tokenized equities and stock perpetual futures in the future.
- Coinbase's partnership with Yahoo Finance allows users to trade directly from asset research, enhancing user experience.
- This move positions Coinbase to compete directly with traditional brokerages while integrating traditional and digital asset markets.
With its most ambitious foray into traditional finance to date, Coinbase Global (NASDAQ: COIN) is allowing all US users to trade stocks and ETFs without commissions as it works to become what CEO Brian Armstrong refers to as “the everything exchange.” Coinbase (COIN) stock closed the session at $162.03, up 1.12%.
Coinbase Goes Beyond Crypto: The Multi-Asset Pivot
The San Francisco-based business said on Tuesday that thousands of stocks and exchange-traded funds are now accessible to all of its US users, who may trade them around-the-clock, every day of the week, all through the same app that they now use to manage their cryptocurrency portfolios. With the rollout’s fractional shares, quick funding through USD or USDC, and no costs, Coinbase will be directly competing with well-known retail brokerages like Fidelity and Robinhood.
Currently, about 6,000 securities are supported, and in the upcoming weeks, that number is expected to grow. A backend integration with Apex Fintech Solutions, which manages clearing, custody, and execution services, powers the feature. In order to encourage deeper interaction with the platform’s native stablecoin ecosystem, Coinbase One customers will also be eligible to receive unlimited rewards on USDC balances utilized for trading.
Armstrong quickly broke the news on X, writing, “The everything exchange is growing.”
At Tuesday’s closing, COIN shares were up 1.12% for the day, trading at $162.03, indicating a cautious but upbeat market reaction to the news.
A Bridge Between Two Financial Worlds
Coinbase is establishing the foundation for something more revolutionary than simple stock trading. The business stated that it will eventually provide tokenized equities, which are blockchain-based versions of common stock, enabling users to “leverage equity holdings as onchain collateral and make instant payments backed by stock value.” In addition, Coinbase plans to launch stock perpetual futures for non-US consumers as early as this spring through its Coinbase Bermuda business, subject to regulatory approval.
Alongside the launch is a partnership with Yahoo Finance that allows customers to click once to go straight from researching an asset on Yahoo Finance to making a trade on Coinbase. As part of the agreement, Yahoo Finance users will receive a one-month trial of Coinbase One Basic, and Yahoo Finance will incorporate real-time Coinbase data for asset discovery and tracking.
Riding a Broader TradFi Wave
As the larger financial sector scrambles to combine the traditional and digital asset markets, Coinbase is pushing for stock trading. Plans for a tokenized stock trading platform with round-the-clock trading and quick settlement were revealed in January by the New York Stock Exchange and its parent firm, Intercontinental Exchange. Last September, Nasdaq submitted a request to the SEC, stating that listing tokenized stocks was a key priority.
While platforms like Kraken and Bybit have been providing tokenized versions of major US equities since mid-2024, Robinhood launched its tokenization program on the Arbitrum blockchain in October.
The action taken by Coinbase is possibly the most aggressive attempt to date to blur the lines between a brokerage and a cryptocurrency exchange into a single, cohesive product, which has the potential to transform the way that individual investors see the management of a diverse portfolio.
It remains to be seen if consumers, competitors, and regulators will adopt that vision on a large scale. However, Coinbase has made its goals quite plain, as seen by the 6,000 securities that went live on the first day and the upcoming tokenized stocks.
- Check out our free forex signals
- Follow the top economic events on FX Leaders economic calendar
- Trade better, discover more Forex Trading Strategies
- Open a FREE Trading Account
- Read our latest reviews on: Avatrade, Exness, HFM and XM
Save