Story Stocks®

Updated: 12-Dec-25 11:31 ET
Coinbase enters prediction markets, tokenized stocks as "everything app" strategy accelerates (COIN)
Coinbase (COIN) is pushing into the prediction markets and tokenized stocks, moves Bloomberg says could debut as soon as next week. The steps extend COIN’s strategy of building an “everything app” by layering new retail and derivatives products onto its core exchange.
  • Prediction markets let users buy/sell contracts that pay out based on real-world event outcomes (think binary yes/no markets). Tokenized stocks are blockchain-based tokens that represent exposure to equity prices without necessarily conveying shareholder rights.
  • COIN has been assembling complementary capabilities -- notably the Deribit acquisition earlier this year -- to push deeper into derivatives and options. COIN and Deribit together produced record derivatives volumes in 3Q25 (options and perpetual futures activity contributed to an aggregate derivatives notional of roughly $840 bln).
  • Gemini Space Station (GEMI) also signaled entry into U.S. prediction markets after securing a CFTC-designated contract market license, underscoring growing institutional and retail interest in event contracts.
  • Robinhood Markets (HOOD) has already said prediction markets are its fastest-growing product, and established players Polymarket and Kalshi lead current market share.
  • Prediction markets have moved from niche to mainstream rapidly. Trading volumes and venture capital rounds for Kalshi and Polymarket show accelerating investor interest and user adoption.
  • HOOD's public comments that volumes have doubled each quarter reinforce a strong growth trajectory, though the overall market remains small vs. spot crypto and mainstream derivatives today.

Briefing.com Analyst Insight

COIN’s planned rollouts are logical extensions of its one-stop app playbook. Adding prediction markets and tokenized equities leverages existing custody and trading infrastructure to monetize new flows. Short term, these products will likely boost engagement and fee diversity (and could piggyback on COIN’s derivatives scale via the Deribit deal), but they’re unlikely to be a near-term revenue inflection on the scale of spot or derivatives trading. Over the intermediate term, however, success depends on product execution, regulatory clarity (especially for tokenized stocks and U.S. event contracts), and whether COIN can convert casual users into repeat prediction-market traders. Given strong competition from incumbents (Polymarket, Kalshi) and fast movers like HOOD and GEMI, COIN can capture meaningful share, but material earnings upside will require the market itself to keep expanding and for COIN to avoid regulatory friction.

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