Coinbase rises after announcing entry into prediction markets, stock trading
Coinbase was nearly 3% higher in early trading on Thursday after the crypto exchange said Wednesday it’s launching stock trading and prediction markets in the US — as the company accelerates its push to become an “everything exchange.”
Users will now be able to trade stocks and ETFs alongside their crypto portfolios at zero commission — using either US dollars or the USDC stablecoin — within their Coinbase app and account, the company said.
Prediction markets will be offered through CFTC-regulated provider Kalshi, allowing users to trade yes-or-no contracts tied to elections, sports, economic indicators, and more, with bets placed in US dollars or USDC stablecoin.
Prediction markets have surged in popularity after a federal court allowed event contracts tied to the US election to proceed last year, overcoming attempted regulatory curbs. Contracts on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket have proven more accurate on certain outcomes — most notably the 2024 US presidential election — than traditional markets, though critics warn of the dangers of insider trading.
The space is heating up quickly, with crypto exchange Gemini recently securing CFTC approval, Crypto.com teaming up with Trump Media to launch markets on Truth Social, and Robinhood already offering prediction markets through Kalshi while expanding its event trading features, with 11 billion contracts traded by more than 1 million customers on the app since launching late last year.
(Disclosure: Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company. I own Robinhood stock as part of my compensation.)
Alongside the major rollouts, Coinbase also unveiled a broad slate of new products, including Coinbase Business; custom-branded stablecoins backed by flexible collaterals like USDC; an AI-powered financial adviser; and Coinbase Tokenize, an institutional platform aimed at enabling 24/7 on-chain trading of tokenized assets.
Coinbase’s shares are down about 2.5% year to date, after erasing roughly a 50% gain logged as recently as early October amid a broader sell-off across crypto markets.
Prediction markets have surged in popularity after a federal court allowed event contracts tied to the US election to proceed last year, overcoming attempted regulatory curbs. Contracts on platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket have proven more accurate on certain outcomes — most notably the 2024 US presidential election — than traditional markets, though critics warn of the dangers of insider trading.
The space is heating up quickly, with crypto exchange Gemini recently securing CFTC approval, Crypto.com teaming up with Trump Media to launch markets on Truth Social, and Robinhood already offering prediction markets through Kalshi while expanding its event trading features, with 11 billion contracts traded by more than 1 million customers on the app since launching late last year.
(Disclosure: Robinhood Markets Inc. is the parent company of Sherwood Media, an independently operated media company. I own Robinhood stock as part of my compensation.)
Alongside the major rollouts, Coinbase also unveiled a broad slate of new products, including Coinbase Business; custom-branded stablecoins backed by flexible collaterals like USDC; an AI-powered financial adviser; and Coinbase Tokenize, an institutional platform aimed at enabling 24/7 on-chain trading of tokenized assets.
Coinbase’s shares are down about 2.5% year to date, after erasing roughly a 50% gain logged as recently as early October amid a broader sell-off across crypto markets.
