Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) is expanding beyond its origins as a spot cryptocurrency trading platform, with Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas outlining a strategy centered on an “Everything Exchange,” stablecoins, payments and on-chain infrastructure during a Citi Research conference discussion.
Haas said the company’s addressable market has broadened materially over the past 12 to 18 months. Coinbase now operates across spot crypto, derivatives, traditional equities, tokenized equities for non-U.S. customers and prediction markets, she said. Its derivatives business includes crypto contracts as well as contracts tied to commodities and metals.
Focus on Derivatives, Prediction Markets and USDC
Haas said Coinbase’s publicly stated priorities this year are expanding the Everything Exchange and growing stablecoin- and payments-related businesses. Within the exchange strategy, she highlighted derivatives and prediction markets as products requiring the most scaling and showing the strongest new product-market fit.
Prediction markets, a product Haas described as approximately six months old, have gained traction as Coinbase adds contract types such as crypto binaries and Combos. She said crypto binary contracts allow users to express a view on short-term crypto price movements without committing the capital required to buy or trade the underlying asset directly.
According to Haas, prediction-market activity so far has come from existing Coinbase users rather than paid acquisition efforts. The company has not yet used the product as a growth-marketing channel because it is still focused on strengthening and scaling the offering. She also said Coinbase has not seen cannibalization of its other products, describing prediction-market revenue to date as incremental.
Coinbase One, the company’s paid membership program, exceeded 1 million subscribers during the second quarter, Haas said. She characterized the milestone as notable because it occurred against a backdrop of weaker crypto markets. The membership currently provides benefits largely tied to spot crypto trading, but Haas said Coinbase sees opportunities to expand benefits into derivatives, prediction markets and adjacent services. She also cited the Coinbase card and USDC rewards as valuable parts of the membership offering.
Disclosure Changes and Expense Discipline
Haas said Coinbase has begun adjusting its disclosures as revenue becomes more diversified. In its second-quarter earnings presentation, the company began separating spot and derivatives trading volume, along with stablecoins and other categories, rather than presenting a single aggregate trading-volume figure.
“As our revenue diversifies, we will look to then update financial disclosures accordingly,” Haas said, adding that the company will continue evaluating ways to make its results more transparent for investors and analysts.
On costs, Haas said Coinbase is focused on maintaining expense discipline while continuing to develop products. She pointed to productivity gains from artificial intelligence, saying the company has reported meaningfully higher year-over-year pull requests and improved quality. Coinbase expects its 2026 expenses to look “very much like” 2025 expenses, excluding changes associated with USDC rewards, she said.
Haas reiterated Coinbase’s commitment to remaining adjusted EBITDA positive and said an improvement in crypto prices would accrue to the company’s bottom line. She also said the company’s development pace has not slowed despite the lower headcount base.
Tokenized Equities and Regulation
Coinbase recently introduced one-for-one-backed tokenized equities on its Base network for customers outside the U.S., Haas said. She described the product as an equity held on blockchain infrastructure that is eligible for dividends and would eventually include voting rights once the technology is added to the roadmap.
Haas said Coinbase views the product as a “security plus,” combining ownership rights associated with a traditional security with the ability to self-custody, transfer and use the asset outside the existing intermediary system. She emphasized that customers must complete know-your-customer procedures.
She distinguished between tokenized securities representing actual securities and structures that are derivatives or other products, arguing that investors need clear taxonomy and education about the risks of what they are buying. Haas compared the distinction to differences among stablecoins, including algorithmic stablecoins and one-for-one-backed USDC.
On U.S. digital-asset regulation, Haas said Coinbase was “cautiously optimistic” about a September 15 congressional vote related to the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act. She said congressional action would be more durable, but added that the company’s roadmap does not depend on one outcome because the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission are also pursuing regulatory clarity through rulemaking.
Base and Agentic Payments
Haas said Coinbase sees long-term potential in agentic payments and Base, its blockchain network. Base sequencer fees are included in Coinbase’s other transaction revenue, she said, though the category is not currently material enough to disclose separately.
She said agentic-payment adoption may initially emerge in micropayment use cases, including agents purchasing inference, before broadening into other payment activity. Coinbase is using Base as part of its developer platform, offering developers USDC on Base alongside payment tools.
Haas said Coinbase remains a strong supporter of permissionless blockchain architecture, citing its security and resiliency benefits. While she expects both centralized and decentralized systems to coexist, she said centralized platforms will retain advantages in areas such as security and low-latency trading.
Looking ahead, Haas said Coinbase aims to unify tradable assets on a single technology stack, enabling features such as cross-margin and greater trading efficiency. She said the company believes this could support higher volumes and market share as its addressable market continues to expand.
About Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN)
Coinbase Global, Inc operates a digital asset and cryptocurrency platform serving retail users, institutions, developers and ecosystem partners. Through its exchange, customers can buy, sell, convert, store and transfer a range of cryptocurrencies and other digital assets. The company also provides an advanced trading platform for more experienced users and services designed for institutional trading and market access.
Its product offerings include custodial services, institutional prime brokerage and custody, staking services, a self-custody wallet, and tools that enable developers and businesses to build applications using blockchain networks.
