Coinbase has announced it has secured a UK investment services authorisation that will allow it to offer equities and derivatives alongside cryptocurrencies.

The MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive) license means advanced and institutional users of the exchange in the UK will be able to trade shares as well as derivatives including crypto, equity and commodity perpetual futures, a non-expiring swap contract that allows crypto holders to trade assets such as gold or oil by proxy.
In addition, retail users will be able to trade shares on the platform for the first time.

The company described the approval as the biggest expansion of its UK offering since entering the market.

The authorisation sits alongside Coinbase's existing UK e-money licence and crypto registration and enables the company to broaden its services beyond digital assets as it pursues its vision of becoming an "everything exchange".

The company said it plans to add further products over time, including tokenised real-world assets, building on recent UK launches of savings and borrowing services.

Coinbase also pointed to growing demand for regulated digital asset services. It cited research from the Financial Conduct Authority showing that around seven million UK adults already own cryptoassets, while a quarter of non-holders would be more likely to invest if the sector operated under a clear regulatory framework.

The company welcomed the UK government's approach to crypto regulation, arguing that robust regulation and innovation can develop together. It said the new licence demonstrates that firms can expand digital finance services while meeting high regulatory standards.

The development comes as competition between crypto exchanges intensifies following the introduction of Europe's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime. Coinbase rival Binance recently suffered a setback after failing to secure an EU MiCA licence, forcing it to wind down services across the bloc while it searches for an alternative licensing route.

---