Summary
- Coinbase has obtained authorization in the UK to provide regulated investment services, enabling it to offer traditional financial instruments in addition to cryptocurrencies.
- For the first time, UK users will have the opportunity to trade stocks on the platform, while institutional and advanced traders will access derivatives related to cryptocurrencies, equities, and commodities.
- This license complements Coinbase's existing UK e-money and crypto registrations, furthering its ambition to become an "everything exchange."
The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has gained regulatory approval to extend its services to include stocks and derivatives for customers in the UK, marking a significant expansion of its offerings in a key international market and pushing its vision of becoming the "everything exchange."
On Tuesday, the exchange announced that it has received a UK investment services authorization, commonly referred to as a MiFID license, from the Financial Conduct Authority, which permits it to provide traditional financial products alongside its cryptocurrency services.
Today signifies our largest expansion of Coinbase UK's product offerings.
We have now secured investment services authorization in the UK, which will soon allow us to offer both equities and derivatives.
Another step toward realizing the everything exchange globally. pic.twitter.com/sns3IGRHHM
ā Coinbase š”ļø (@coinbase) July 7, 2026
This approval from the UK regulatory body supports Coinbase's goal of becoming an "everything exchange," which aims to integrate various services such as cryptocurrencies, stocks, derivatives, prediction markets, payments, and savings, positioning it to compete with traditional brokerages, banks, and fintech platforms.
In the United States, Coinbase was the first centralized exchange authorized to offer crypto perpetual futures and has begun to introduce stock trading, prediction markets powered by Kalshi, and is working on tokenized equities. Recently, it added savings and borrowing options for users in the UK.
New Regulations in the UK
This authorization complements Coinbase's existing UK e-money licence and crypto registration, which the company claims makes it the "most comprehensively regulated crypto player" in the market. This development comes as the UK is finalizing its overarching crypto regulatory framework, with the FCA having published its guidelines in late June, and a complete regulatory regime set to be implemented by October 2027. According to FCA research, around 7 million adults in the UK currently own cryptocurrency.
For the time being, derivatives will only be available to institutional and advanced traders, as the FCA continues to prohibit the sale of crypto derivatives to retail investors in the UK, making equities the primary new offering for everyday users.