Coinbase has secured regulatory approval in the United Kingdom to offer stocks and derivatives alongside cryptocurrency, marking its biggest product expansion in one of its largest international markets.
The exchange announced on July 7 that it had received a UK investment services authorisation from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The licence allows Coinbase to move beyond digital assets by offering equities to retail investors and derivatives,including perpetual futures linked to crypto, stocks and commodities to eligible institutional and advanced traders.
The approval is a key step in Coinbase’s ambition to become what it describes as an “everything exchange”,a single platform where users can trade multiple asset classes under one account instead of using separate brokers for stocks and crypto.
For retail customers in the UK, the biggest change will be access to stock trading through the Coinbase app. Institutional and sophisticated investors, meanwhile, will gain access to a broader suite of derivatives, including perpetual futures tied to cryptocurrencies, equities and commodities.
The new authorisation complements Coinbase’s existing UK e-money licence and crypto registration, making it one of the few crypto-native companies with permissions covering both digital assets and traditional investment products in the country.
Keith Grose, Coinbase’s UK country director, described the approval as the company’s largest expansion of products in the British market since it began operating there. He said the licence brings Coinbase closer to offering customers a platform that combines traditional finance and crypto investing in one place.
The timing is significant. The UK is continuing to build its regulatory framework for digital assets, with a broader crypto regime expected to take effect in 2027. By securing investment services authorisation now, Coinbase can broaden its offerings while positioning itself ahead of future regulatory changes.
The announcement also comes days after rival exchange Binance suspended services for users across much of the European Union after failing to secure authorisation under the bloc’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework before the deadline. While Binance works to regain access to the market, Coinbase is expanding its regulated footprint in another major European financial centre.
Coinbase has increasingly focused on regulated expansion as it diversifies beyond cryptocurrency trading. Over the past year, the company has introduced products ranging from stablecoin infrastructure and prediction markets to tokenised financial services, reflecting a broader strategy to compete with traditional brokerages as well as crypto exchanges.
The UK licence represents another milestone in that strategy, giving Coinbase the regulatory approval it needs to serve customers looking to trade both traditional financial assets and cryptocurrencies from a single platform.
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