Coinbase Goes Full "Everything Exchange" in the UK, FCA Says Not So Fast for Retail 🚦

Coinbase has secured a United Kingdom investment services license that allows the exchange to offer derivatives and equities alongside its existing crypto products, the company said Tuesday. The authorization enables UK users to trade financial instruments alongside digital assets on Coinbase's platform, with institutional and advanced traders gaining access to perpetual futures tied to crypto, equities and commodities, while retail users will be able to access equities. Coinbase described the approval as its largest UK product expansion since entering the market and a step toward its vision of an "everything exchange" that combines crypto and traditional financial assets under one roof. Future rollouts remain subject to regulatory permissions and UK market rules, the company added.

The new license supplements Coinbase's existing UK crypto exchange registration and money transmission approval. It also arrives ahead of the UK's forthcoming crypto regime, under which the Financial Conduct Authority will begin accepting applications in September before the rules take effect in October 2027. That framework will require crypto trading platforms, custodians, stablecoin issuers, staking providers and other intermediaries to obtain FCA authorization. FCA research cited by Coinbase estimates that around 7 million UK adults hold crypto assets, and a quarter of UK adults who do not currently own crypto said they are more likely to participate under clearer regulation. The FCA declined to comment before publication.

UK retail access to crypto derivatives remains restricted under FCA rules dating to 2021, when the regulator banned the sale, marketing and distribution of derivatives and exchange-traded notes referencing certain crypto assets to retail consumers. The FCA has since reopened retail access to certain crypto ETNs, with the change taking effect on Oct. 8, 2025, permitting retail participation only on FCA-approved, UK-based Recognised Investment Exchanges and subject to financial promotion and consumer protection rules. The FCA has confirmed its ban on retail access to crypto derivatives remains in place.

Industry surveys indicate institutional demand is moving in parallel with the regulatory build-out, with 73-77% of UK and European institutions reporting plans to increase crypto allocations this year and the share of institutions allocating more than 5% of assets to crypto projected to rise from 11% to 28%. Coinbase's UK expansion is the latest signal that regulated platforms are positioning to serve both retail and institutional clients across crypto and traditional finance within a single integrated market structure.