Coinbase Is Rebuilding the Brokerage Model

Coinbase is attempting to collapse the distinction between crypto and traditional finance. Through a new System Update, the company is expanding its utility beyond a simple exchange to become what it calls an “everything exchange” as reported by Decrypt.

The expansion includes the ability to trade US stocks, ETFs, and indexes alongside crypto. Users can now transfer stock portfolios from other brokerages directly into the Coinbase ecosystem. The update introduces several high-utility products:

• Options on equities and crypto.
• Tokenized stocks backed one-for-one by real shares, including dividend pass-throughs.
• Perpetual futures tied to thematic baskets such as AI, defense, and Chinese equities.
• Pre-IPO perps.
• An SEC-registered AI advisor and automated trading agents.
• Consumer finance tools, including a USDC-backed credit card and loans against staked Solana.

This strategy positions Coinbase as a hybrid entity: a brokerage, a bank, and a robo-advisor. By integrating equities and AI-driven automation, the company is building the infrastructure for a single-app financial life.

The significance of this move lies in the convergence of asset classes. While Coinbase is not the first to move into these sectors, the integration of agentic trading and tokenized assets aligns with broader market shifts. The success of perpetual futures in other protocols suggests a high demand for these instruments. If the market for real-world assets reaches the 40x projection for 2030, Coinbase is positioning itself to capture the expansion of the total market rather than merely fighting for existing crypto market share.

The move toward AI-driven trading agents and tokenized equities suggests that the next phase of finance will be defined by automation and the removal of friction between disparate asset classes.

Watch how the adoption of these tokenized equities scales following the rollout of the AI advisor.