Coinbase gains UK investment licence to add equities and derivatives

Coinbase said it has obtained UK authorisation to provide investment services, clearing the way for the crypto exchange to offer traditional financial instruments as well as digital assets to UK users. The company said the licence would support what it described as the largest expansion of its UK product suite since entering the market, with equities for retail users and derivatives for institutional and advanced traders.

The authorisation broadens the activities Coinbase can conduct through its UK entity, which the company said already holds an e-money licence and a crypto registration. Coinbase said the new permission will allow users to access multiple asset classes from a single account, rather than maintaining separate relationships for brokerage, crypto and other financial products.

Products covered by the authorisation

Coinbase said institutional and advanced clients will gain access to derivatives including perpetual futures linked to crypto assets, equities and commodities. Perpetual futures are contracts that give traders exposure to the price of an asset without a fixed expiry date, with funding mechanisms typically used to keep the contract price close to the underlying market.

For retail customers, Coinbase said the licence will allow equities trading on its platform for the first time in the UK. The company did not provide a launch date for the products, saying UK users would be able to access them “soon”. It also described the initial product set as an opening stage, without specifying further instruments or timing.

The move extends Coinbase’s UK offering beyond crypto trading into regulated investment services. Coinbase said it has recently launched UK savings and borrowing products, and that the investment services authorisation provides the next step in its plan to combine payments, savings, borrowing, crypto, derivatives and equities on one platform. The company also said tokenised real-world assets are planned, but did not give details.

Regulatory context

Coinbase linked the licence to the UK’s broader regulatory approach to digital finance. The company said the UK Government and the Financial Conduct Authority are developing a pro-growth framework with clear safeguards, and argued that regulation can support wider participation by institutions and consumers.

The company cited FCA research showing that about 7 million UK adults already hold crypto assets. Coinbase also cited the FCA’s finding that a quarter of adults who do not hold crypto would be more likely to participate if the sector were properly regulated.

The UK’s full crypto regime is expected to take effect in October 2027, according to Coinbase. The company said the new investment services authorisation gives UK users regulated access to traditional investments before that regime is in place.

Coinbase positioned the UK as an important market for the expansion, citing its developed capital markets and fintech adoption. The company said the licence strengthens its regulatory position in the country by adding investment services permissions to its existing UK approvals.

The authorisation comes as global crypto platforms seek to broaden their businesses beyond spot digital-asset trading and as regulators define the boundaries between crypto services, payments and mainstream investment products. Coinbase said its UK strategy is based on offering those services under one login, while remaining within the country’s regulated financial framework.

This story draws on original reporting from Finextra Research.