Coinbase secured UK authorization to offer traditional investment services, including derivatives and equities.
The license allows institutional traders to access perpetual futures and gives U.K. retail customers the ability to trade equities to begin with.
This authorization boosts Coinbase’s "Everything Exchange" strategy, expanding its offerings beyond crypto into stocks and derivatives.
Nasdaq-listed Coinbase (COIN) has secured U.K. regulatory approval to offer equities and derivatives alongside crypto, expanding its product suite in one of its largest international markets.
The new license enables institutional and advanced traders to access crypto, equity and commodity perpetual futures, Coinbase said in a blog post. Retail customers in the U.K. will also be able to trade equities on Coinbase for the first time.
The authorization sits alongside Coinbase’s U.K. e-money license and crypto registration. The company received FCA cryptoasset registration in February last year, allowing it to provide crypto and fiat services in the country.
U.K. users are getting access to products Coinbase has started rolling out overseas. U.S. users already have access to stock and exchange-traded fund trading, while eligible non-U.S. customers can trade USDC-settled stock perpetual futures on large-cap names including Apple, Microsoft and Tesla.
Coinbase has also said it plans to offer tokenized stocks backed one-for-one by U.S. equities to eligible non-U.S. users. Those products are meant to give investors ownership of the underlying shares, including dividends.
The U.K. approval advances Coinbase’s push to become an “Everything Exchange,” a strategy that includes stocks, crypto derivatives, tokenized products, prediction markets and consumer finance products.
The U.K.’s full crypto framework is expected to take effect in October 2027. Coinbase’s new license gives the company a regulated route to expand beyond crypto before then.
CoinDesk has reached out to Coinbase but hasn't heard back at the time of writing.
