Coinbase has secured authorization from the UK Financial Conduct Authority to expand its product suite beyond crypto. The license permits the exchange to offer equities trading to retail customers and perpetual futures access to institutional traders in the country.
The move marks an incremental step in Coinbase's broader push to blend traditional finance with crypto services. Retail customers in the UK can now trade stocks through the platform. Institutional clients gain access to perpetual futures contracts, a derivatives product that crypto exchanges have offered for years but that sits in a more heavily regulated zone for traditional brokers.
The FCA authorization is specific to these two product classes. Coinbase has not disclosed a formal timeline for rolling out either service, nor has it detailed the operational mechanics of how equities will be sourced, settled, or custodied on its infrastructure.
UK regulators have grown more active in crypto oversight over the past two years, establishing clearer guardrails for stablecoin issuance and exchange operations. This authorization suggests the FCA sees sufficient operational and compliance rigor at Coinbase to permit these additional asset classes under UK law.
Coinbase already operates a regulated entity in the UK under existing crypto rules. This new authorization expands that footprint without requiring a separate legal entity, though the specific regulatory framework governing equities and futures access may differ from the base crypto license.
The newsroom could not confirm whether Coinbase faces restrictions on which stocks or futures contracts can be offered, whether leverage limits apply, or if the products will be available to existing Coinbase UK users immediately or rolled out in phases.