Coinbase opens UK stock trading beyond crypto roots

Coinbase has opened US stock trading to customers in the UK, accelerating its push beyond cryptocurrencies as the exchange seeks to become a broader financial platform spanning digital assets, equities, savings and borrowing.

The service began rolling out progressively to eligible UK users on August 6, giving customers access to nearly 4,000 US stocks through the same Coinbase application used for crypto and fiat holdings. Trading is available for eligible shares 24 hours a day, five days a week, with no commission charged by Coinbase and fractional purchases starting from £1.

Customers can fund stock purchases with pounds or the USDC stablecoin, creating a direct bridge between conventional securities and digital assets. US shares remain denominated in dollars, meaning exchange-rate movements can affect the value received by investors funding transactions with sterling. Fractional share trading is restricted to normal US market hours, while extended-hours dealing carries additional liquidity and pricing risks.

The move represents one of Coinbase’s clearest attempts yet to reduce its dependence on cryptocurrency trading and position itself as an all-purpose investment platform. The company has described its longer-term strategy as building an “Everything Exchange”, where customers can eventually trade a wider range of financial assets through a single account.

The UK expansion follows regulatory approval secured on July 7, when Coinbase Payments Ltd received authorisation to provide investment services. The permission allows the company to move beyond crypto products and offer traditional financial instruments, including equities and derivatives, under its UK-regulated operation. Coinbase Payments is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority for investment services under register number 1045733.

Orders placed by UK customers are routed to Coinbase Capital Markets, its US broker-dealer, with execution, clearing and settlement handled through third parties. The structure enables Coinbase to place conventional securities alongside crypto holdings without converting the underlying stocks themselves into blockchain-based assets.

That distinction is important because Coinbase has also signalled plans for tokenised stocks. Such products would represent another stage in its attempt to bring traditional assets onto blockchain-based infrastructure. The present UK service involves conventional US equities rather than tokenised versions, although the company has made tokenisation a central part of its longer-term product strategy.

Coinbase first began introducing stock trading to US customers in December 2025 and subsequently expanded availability across the country. Its US service similarly combines equities and crypto within one portfolio, offers commission-free trading and provides extended access to eligible stocks. Fractional investments there can start from $1.

The UK rollout puts Coinbase into more direct competition with established retail investment platforms and newer digital brokers that already offer low-cost access to US shares. The competitive battle is increasingly moving beyond commission levels towards trading hours, fractional ownership, product breadth and the ability to manage different asset classes within one application.

Extended-hours trading is also becoming a wider industry priority. Traditional exchanges and trading venues are examining longer operating schedules as investors accustomed to continuously traded cryptocurrency markets demand greater flexibility. Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange have explored broader trading hours, while London Stock Exchange Group has been developing arrangements aimed at facilitating trading outside conventional daytime sessions. Longer hours can nevertheless produce thinner liquidity and wider spreads when fewer market participants are active.

Coinbase is making its equities push while broadening its UK consumer offering in other areas. Savings and borrowing products have already been added as the company attempts to increase the number of financial activities customers conduct within its ecosystem. Its regulatory authorisation also creates scope for derivatives aimed at institutional and advanced users.

The diversification comes as crypto exchanges increasingly compete with mainstream brokers, while traditional financial firms move in the opposite direction by adding digital assets. Robinhood has expanded aggressively into crypto and tokenised products, while other digital-asset platforms have explored equities and representations of traditional securities on blockchain networks.

For Coinbase, US equities offer a large established market with trading activity that is less directly tied to cryptocurrency cycles. The company’s challenge will be convincing UK investors that combining stocks, stablecoins and crypto in one account offers advantages over specialist investment platforms, while meeting regulatory expectations across products carrying very different risk profiles.

Arabian Post – Crypto News Network