Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, is expanding into traditional finance by launching a stock trading service in the US market. This represents a declaration of its intention to move beyond its cryptocurrency-focused exchange model and evolve into a comprehensive financial platform encompassing stocks and digital assets.
The core of the service Coinbase is developing is "tokenized stocks." This involves trading digital tokens based on actual listed stocks, designed to exchange economic rights to the stocks on a blockchain. Unlike traditional stock trading through existing securities accounts, the key difference lies in the use of digital asset infrastructure.
This move clearly demonstrates Coinbase's ambition to become an "everything exchange" beyond a cryptocurrency exchange. This strategy aims to integrate not only virtual assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum, but also stocks, prediction markets, and derivatives into a single platform. This strategy aligns with the rapidly blurring boundaries between trading assets in global financial markets.
The regulatory environment is particularly noteworthy. While there has been significant regulatory uncertainty surrounding tokenized securities in the US, discussions surrounding their inclusion in the regulatory framework have recently become more concrete. Coinbase's launch of a stock trading service signals that the integration of digital assets and traditional finance has moved beyond the experimental phase and entered the phase of full-scale commercialization.
The industry interprets this initiative as a signal of the future direction of the global asset market. If blockchain-based stock trading takes hold, it is highly likely to bring significant changes to the existing financial system in terms of transaction times, payment structures, and accessibility. As cryptocurrency exchanges evolve into financial platforms, the stock market is also entering a new phase of competition.
