Hey, it’s Marc.

Stop calling Coinbase a crypto exchange. As of yesterday, that label is dead.

At its System Update event, Coinbase did not launch features. It dismantled categories. Stocks, derivatives, prediction markets, stablecoins, and tokenized real-world assets were all pulled into a single on-chain environment, settled on Base, collateralized by USDC, and distributed through one wallet. [MORE]

Let’s unpack. (full PDF at the bottom)

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What happened

On December 17, 2025, Coinbase introduced a series of incremental features. Their advanced five core initiatives are:

  1. Zero-Fee Stock & ETF Trading (24/5) – U.S. equities and ETFs, with thousands more planned – Designed for distribution, not margin capture

  2. International Equity Perpetual Futures (ex-U.S.) – Perps for stocks, launching early 2026 – Unlocks global, continuous liquidity for equities

  3. Regulated Prediction Markets (via Kalshi) – Elections, macro outcomes, rates, and events as tradeable contracts – Structured as financial markets, not gambling

  4. Coinbase Tokenize (Institutional Tokenization Stack) – End-to-end issuance, custody, compliance, and secondary trading – Designed for off-chain assets moving on-chain at scale

  5. Stablecoin-as-a-Service (“Custom Stablecoins”) – Enterprises can issue branded digital dollars – Fully backed 1:1 by USDC, custodied and compliant at Coinbase