Coinbase continues to expand its product suite with the launch of stock trading and prediction markets as it pushes toward becoming a fully integrated financial platform.
According to a December 17 announcement, Coinbase has introduced a number of new features, including stock trading and access to prediction markets, among other additions.
Stock trading goes live on the Coinbase app
Stock trading is initially being rolled out to US users, who can buy, sell, and manage individual stocks alongside exchange-traded funds directly on the app using both US dollars and USDC.
Coinbase users will have the option to use either fiat or USDC directly from their existing Coinbase account.
The offering features zero trading commissions and lets users buy and sell stocks five days a week, even outside traditional market hours.
Initially, the platform will support a limited number of stocks, and the exchange plans to add thousands of additional stocks over the coming months, the announcement said.
“This is a major milestone in our plan to enable 24/7 trading of stocks and ETFs from anywhere in the world, powered by crypto,” Coinbase head of consumer and business products Max Branzburg said while announcing the rollout during its year-end conference held the same day.
As part of future plans, Coinbase intends to enable 24/7 tokenized equity exposure through Coinbase Tokenize, a new institutional platform, while there are also plans to introduce stock-linked perpetual contracts set for early next year.
Predictions market and other updates
Coinbase also rolled out a prediction market powered by Kalshi that will allow users to trade outcomes of real-world events directly from the main app.
Users will have access to event contracts for topics such as elections, sports, and macroeconomic data, with plans to support additional platforms in the future.
Besides these, Coinbase has also added other advanced trading features like futures and perpetual futures under a simplified interface integrated into the core app.
Further, Solana-based token swaps are now available on Coinbase’s main app as part of the exchange’s DEX trading expansion.
To support this, Coinbase has integrated Jupiter, Solana’s leading DEX aggregator, allowing users to swap Solana tokens securely without leaving the app.
Simultaneously, Coinbase Business, a crypto-native financial suite for startups and small businesses, has been made available in the US and Singapore.
Coinbase shares initially closed down more than 3 percent but recovered slightly in after-hours trading as markets digested the broader rollout.
These recent launches fit directly into Coinbase’s strategy to evolve into an “everything app” that can eventually replace traditional financial institutions.
CEO Brian Armstrong has reiterated on several occasions that the company ultimately wants to “be a bank replacement for people.”
Coinbase expands in India
Against this backdrop, Coinbase has continued to expand its global footprint and recently sharpened its focus on the Indian market.
After nearly two years of regulatory pause, the exchange reopened access for Indian users earlier this month.
It has also made a fresh investment in CoinDCX and was recently given the green light by India’s competition regulator to proceed with its minority stake acquisition.
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