U.S.-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase (COIN) is introducing stock trading and incorporating prediction markets, along with a slew of other new products and assets aimed at cementing the platform’s status as an “exchange for everything,” according to a blog post on Wednesday.
Coinbase said it is significantly expanding the assets that can be traded on its platform, including new cryptocurrencies, perpetual futures, stocks and prediction markets, starting with Kalshi, with more integrations coming later.
Providing users with a Swiss Army Knife trading platform has become an area of competition in recent times. Some of Coinbase’s major cryptocurrency trading rivals, such as Robinhood, Kraken and Gemini, have launched tokenized stock products to users outside the United States and are also exploring prediction markets.
The main Coinbase app will offer “a simple interface to trade futures and perpetual contracts, the ability to trade all Solana assets immediately upon creation, major token sales, and global launch of the Base app,” the blog said.
The U.S. regulatory environment has changed dramatically in recent years, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has implicitly endorsed the continued trading of some tokenized stocks on blockchains.
inventory
Max Branzburg, Coinbase’s head of consumer and commercial products, said there is no list of stocks that will be available for trading at launch, as that list could still change. Still, Brandsburg said by email that these will be hundreds of top stocks based on market cap, trading volume and other metrics, with plans to add thousands more stocks and ETFs in the coming months.
The exchange said in its blog post that this integration simplifies portfolio management and allows Coinbase users to buy, sell and manage stock and ETF and cryptocurrency portfolios using U.S. dollars or USDC, all within a single Coinbase app and account.
“Traders will receive zero-commission trading without the constraints of traditional market hours – trade your top stocks 24 hours a day, 5 days a week,” the post continued. “We plan to add thousands more to our inventory in the coming months.”
Coinbase said that early next year, it plans to expand equity perpetual contracts so that traders outside the United States can gain 24/7, capital-efficient exposure to U.S. stocks through the app.
The move is driven by Coinbase Tokenize, the company’s new end-to-end institutional platform for tokenizing real-world assets, which will enable retail investors to purchase tokenized shares on the exchange.
For example, when asked about the specifics of the tokenization process and the regulatory status of equity tokens and their custody in relation to the Central Securities Depository (CSD), Brandsburg said via email:
“What we are really focused on is supporting RWA and tokenized assets. We are working on the mechanisms to achieve this and we will share more specific details soon. Our strict regulation also puts us in a leading position as the space matures.”
Prediction markets, Perps, Solana DEX
Beginning with the integration of $11 billion prediction market provider Kalashi, Coinbase users will be able to trade based on the outcomes of real-world events such as elections, sports, collectibles, and economic indicators, with event contract prices determined by the collective trading activity of market participants.
Coinbase also said it simplifies derivatives trading, allowing users to make larger trades with less upfront capital and enjoy better tax benefits when trading in the cryptocurrency market and commodities.
“We have over 30 futures and perpetual contracts in the U.S., spanning asset classes from cryptocurrencies to commodities to stock indices, with plans to expand to hundreds of contracts over time,” Branzburg said in an email. “As of this week, we now offer 15 cryptocurrency perpetual futures contracts, including BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP and the following contracts listed here.”
Coinbase said it will launch a decentralized exchange (DEX) trading integration in the coming weeks to include access to the Solana token. Major trading apps are integrating popular Solana DEX aggregator Jupiter so users can securely exchange tokens without leaving the app.
Coinbase Business and Wealth Management
Additionally, Coinbase Business, a financial platform designed for cryptocurrency startups and small businesses, is now open to all eligible businesses in the United States and Singapore, the exchange said.
“We enable users to send and receive payments globally through payment links and invoices, manage crypto assets with Coinbase Advanced, and automate financial workflows with access to Coinbase’s regulated infrastructure,” a blog post said.
The exchange also launched a new AI-based wealth management tool called Coinbase Advisor, which it said bridges the gap between idea and execution. Coinbase says high-quality financial guidance is not a luxury, but the standard for everyone.
“Instead of manually piecing together trades, users simply tell the AI their goals and questions – ‘Build a portfolio for me,’ ‘What’s the latest market news and how does it affect me?’ – and get personalized answers through recommendations provided by the products, data and tools available on Coinbase,” the post added.
Coinbase’s popular Ethereum-covered blockchain Base is now going global, officially launching in more than 140 countries. Analysts following the upcoming product announcements have speculated that upgrades to the underlying network may involve the release of native blockchain tokens.
“We will continue to explore the potential of the Base token, but do not have any updates to share at this time,” Branzburg said.
