Coinbase intends to prioritize stablecoins, its Ethereum layer-2 Base and constructing out its trade merchandise previous cryptocurrencies all through 2026, in keeping with CEO Brian Armstrong.
In a New Yr’s social media publish Armstrong reaffirmed Coinbase’s “all the things trade” technique, which incorporates merchandise like prediction markets, equities and commodities.
At its year-end convention in December, Coinbase launched inventory buying and selling and prediction markets as a part of its push. The corporate has additionally rebranded its pockets app as an “all the things app,” including social networking and onchain options.
Coinbase isn’t alone in broadening its product suite. Rival crypto exchanges are more and more bundling companies in a bid to change into “tremendous apps.”
A current report from Delphi Digital discovered that exchanges like Coinbase, OKX and Binance are quietly evolving into distribution layers for a rising vary of digital utilities.
Shifting towards the everything-exchange imaginative and prescient
Coinbase rolling out inventory buying and selling on its major app has been described by its executives as a “milestone” to allow 24/7 buying and selling of shares and ETFs alongside crypto from a single interface.
Coinbase additionally introduced onchain prediction markets in partnership with Kalshi, permitting customers to guess on real-world occasions, and has flagged plans for twenty-four/7 perpetual futures on each crypto and shares.
Associated: Crypto Biz: Exchanges place their bets on prediction markets
Such strikes are pushing crypto exchanges additional into territory occupied by retail brokerages and derivatives venues quite than pure crypto on‑ramps.
Stablecoins and funds kind the second leg of Coinbase’s 2026 plan. It has framed stablecoins as core monetary infrastructure for remittances, payroll and settlements. Armstrong predicted that banks will finally demand curiosity‑bearing stablecoin merchandise.
Associated: Stripe’s stablecoin blockchain Tempo launches public testnet
Safety and assist points cloud the tremendous app push
Armstrong’s imaginative and prescient hasn’t gone unchallenged. Base’s strategy to creator cash has drawn backlash from builders who questioned whether or not the community was capitalizing on viral development alternatives, even because the staff talks up creators as a serious onboarding channel.
Neighborhood responses have additionally flagged longstanding issues about Coinbase’s safety and buyer assist.
The corporate disclosed in 2025 that cybercriminals had bribed abroad customer support brokers to steal buyer information, triggering media scrutiny and renewed debate over outsourced assist and information‑hungry KYC practices.
