Coinbase Launches Unified Stock and ETF Trading to Empower One Billion Users
On February 24, 2026, Coinbase Global, Inc. announced the official launch of U.S. stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) trading for all users in the United States, a massive milestone in its mission to become the world’s first "Everything Exchange." This rollout enables millions of customers to buy and sell thousands of leading equities alongside their existing cryptocurrency portfolios, all within a single, integrated mobile and web interface. By partnering with Apex Fintech Solutions for its cloud-native clearing and custody infrastructure, Coinbase has effectively bridged the gap between the century-old traditional financial system and the modern digital asset economy. The new service offers 24/5 trading for major market securities, commission-free trades, and the ability to purchase fractional shares with as little as 1 dollar. This strategic move is intended to simplify portfolio management for a new generation of "always-on" investors who demand the same real-time flexibility for Apple and Tesla shares that they have grown accustomed to with Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Leveraging the Yahoo Finance Partnership and Instant Asset Funding
A central component of Coinbase’s entry into the equities market is a groundbreaking partnership with Yahoo Finance, the world’s most-visited destination for financial data and news. This collaboration allows over 150 million monthly visitors to move from researching a stock on Yahoo Finance to executing a trade on Coinbase with a single click, effectively turning market insights into immediate action. Furthermore, Coinbase has introduced a feature that allows users to fund their stock purchases instantly using both USD and USDC stablecoin balances, eliminating the traditional multi-day waiting periods associated with legacy bank transfers. Coinbase One members will also benefit from uncapped rewards on their USDC trading balances, creating a powerful incentive for users to consolidate their entire financial lives onto the platform. CEO Brian Armstrong emphasized that this integration is a defining moment in the company’s journey, providing consumers and businesses with the tools they need to take full command of their financial futures across every major asset class in a trusted and regulated environment.
Expanding Globally Through Stock Perpetuals and On-Chain Tokenization
While the immediate focus of today’s launch is the U.S. retail market, Coinbase has outlined an ambitious global roadmap that includes the introduction of "stock perpetuals" for international traders this spring. These derivatives will enable users outside the United States to gain capital-efficient exposure to U.S. equities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, further extending the platform’s reach into the global agentic economy. Looking further ahead, the company plans to launch "Coinbase Tokenize," an institutional platform dedicated to the end-to-end tokenization of real-world assets. By bringing traditional stocks on-chain, Coinbase aims to enable instant settlement, 24/7 global trading, and the ability for users to leverage their equity holdings as collateral for decentralized finance protocols. This transition toward tokenized equities is viewed as a necessary evolution of market structure, replacing outdated settlement cycles with the transparency and speed of blockchain technology. As Coinbase continues to roll out these features, it is positioning itself not just as a crypto exchange, but as the primary infrastructure for a unified global financial system where all assets—digital or traditional—live and move on-chain.
