Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) , the everything exchange, revealed a series of new features and updates today during a “System Update” presentation that holds a bit of Apple showmanship. The event was opened by Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, who declared the US is in the midst of a golden age of entrepreneurship and innovation, with much of this creativity going toward crypto and artificial intelligence (AI). Many new and improved offerings will be available in the coming weeks, with some limited by geography.
Earlier today, Armstrong revealed “true” tokenized stocks, a thesis that was expanded upon at the Update.
Previously announced were perpetuals tied to pre-IPO shares. Coinbase plans to extend this concept to other promising private firms to enable retail access prior to an initial public offering. Anthropic and OpenAI are in the queue.
There was no mention of exempt securities offerings for primary markets in the US, something Coinbase has considered.
Coinbase said that tokenized stocks will be available for 24/7 trading, representing actual shares that can be margined and transferred easily. Shares will be available globally.
Options trading will be added to the Coinbase platform in the coming weeks, starting with the US. These will launch alongside thematic indices, enabling instant access to a targeted sector rather than having to acquire elements of a theme yourself.
Prediction markets, a relatively new platform, will soon allow users to create “Combos,” where they can combine events.
All of these features will benefit from global liquidity as the platform aims to provide access to assets anywhere in the world, faster and with better pricing.
A significant addition is the incorporation of Agentic Trading, which allows users to leverage their chosen agent. This is a growing segment of investing, with modern investment marketplaces emerging quickly and legacy players slow to participate.
Coinbase Advisor claims to be the world’s first SEC-registered AI-powered in-app investment advisor.
Bitcoin rewards, as part of the Coinbase One Card and crypto-backed lending, were reviewed. A cardholder may use the card to pay using USDC while earning rewards. This feature is part of the compromise in the current iteration of the CLARITY Act, which has yet to be voted on in the Senate, and there is a chance that banks will have it erased.
Users may also borrow against staked assets like Solana to unlock liquidity.
As for lending, Coinbase wants to make it simple, whether crypto or otherwise, so your “most important purchases,” like a home, can be financed on the platform. Mortgages will be provided in partnership with Better.
Institutional offerings are a key part of Coinbase’s future, and Coinbase Payments will allow anyone who wants to offer crypto, stablecoins, and more a simple process, including an institutional-grade digital wallet now available in around 50 countries. Payments can also incorporate agentic commerce out of the box.
Base got some coverage and soon “every asset in the world can be traded on Base, which is the place where everything is tokenized. “Base Privacy Platform” is another claimed first, a network said to be a compliant privacy infrastructure for institutions that want to transact onchain.
Coinbase’s ambition to be the one investment platform that serves all of your financial needs seems to be off to a great start and on a promising trajectory. With legacy finance and traditional online brokers trailing, Coinbase continues to add features and functionality that users demand. Still, Robinhood remains in the mix as a popular alternative, but the market is expanding, and Coinbase continues to expand its global presence as the “future of finance.”