Coinbase Wins UK License for Stocks and Derivatives

FCA approval opens the door for Coinbase in the UK to offer stocks and derivatives alongside crypto. It fits into the company’s strategy to grow into a broader Everything Exchange.

Key Takeaways

• Coinbase has received approval in the United Kingdom to offer stocks and derivatives alongside crypto.
• UK retail customers can trade stocks through Coinbase for the first time, while institutional and advanced traders get access to perpetual futures.
• The expansion fits Coinbase’s strategy to become an Everything Exchange, while full UK crypto regulation is not expected until October 2027.

Coinbase has secured approval in the United Kingdom to expand beyond crypto and offer stocks and derivatives as well. The move broadens the Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange’s product lineup in one of its key international markets, while it continues pushing toward a more complete financial platform.

New Products in the UK

According to Coinbase’s blog post, the new license lets institutional and advanced traders access crypto, stock, and commodity perpetual futures. For UK retail users, the biggest change is simpler: they can now trade stocks on Coinbase for the first time.

The approval builds on Coinbase’s existing UK e-money license and crypto registration. The company also received FCA cryptoasset registration in February last year, which opened the door for crypto and fiat services in the country.

A Step Toward Everything Exchange

The UK rollout lines up with Coinbase’s plan to turn itself into an Everything Exchange. That vision covers crypto, stocks, tokenized products, prediction markets, and consumer finance. In the US, the company already offers stock and ETF trading, and qualified non-US customers can trade USDC-settled stock perpetual futures tied to major names like Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla.

Coinbase has also said it wants to launch tokenized stocks backed one-to-one by US shares. The company says those products would give investors economic exposure to the underlying stocks, including dividend rights.

Why This Matters for European Crypto

For European crypto readers, the approval is another sign that major exchanges are evolving into broader investing platforms. In the UK, full crypto regulation is still being worked out, and a complete regime is not expected until October 2027. That gives Coinbase a regulated path to keep expanding before the new framework is fully in place.

Coinbase’s wider product push has already included derivatives and tokenized stocks as part of its effort to rely less on trading fees. The UK approval fits that strategy, giving the exchange another way to attract trading activity beyond crypto alone.