Coinbase’s head of research said the forces that drove crypto in 2025, such as regulation, ETFs, stablecoins and tokenization, will only get stronger in the coming year. Momentum from crypto exchange-traded funds, stablecoins, tokenization, along with clearer regulations, is set to compound in 2026, accelerating crypto adoption, according to Coinbase’s head of investment research, David Duong. In a year-end wrap-up posted to X on Wednesday, Duong said 2025 saw spot exchange-traded funds create regulated access to crypto, digital asset treasuries emerge as new corporate balance-sheet vehicles, and tokenization and stablecoins moving deeper into core financial workflows. “We expect these forces to compound in 2026 as ETF approval timelines compress, stablecoins take a larger role in delivery-vs-payment (DvP) structures, and tokenized collateral is recognized more broadly across traditional transactions,” he said. Read more
Arkham data shows wallets associated with the Official Trump meme team pulling about $94 million in USDC from TRUMP liquidity pools in December and routing the funds to Coinbase. Onchain analysts tracking the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin on Solana have flagged large transfers from wallets labeled as parts of the “Official Trump Meme” cluster moving about $94 million in USDC from TRUMP liquidity pools over the past month. The most recent movement, highlighted by blockchain data platform Arkham, involved 33 million USDC (USDC) being withdrawn from liquidity on Tuesday and sent to an entity labeled Fireblocks, which then routed funds to wallets labeled as belonging to Coinbase. Public Solana records on Solscan corroborate the large USDC outflows from TRUMP‑linked wallets. Read more
A Coinbase executive said changes to the GENIUS Act could weaken US dollar stablecoins as China moves to boost the digital yuan by allowing interest-bearing wallets. A senior executive at Coinbase warned that changes to the US stablecoin framework could weaken Washington’s position in the global race for digital payments, just as China moves to make its central bank digital currency (CBDC) more competitive. In a post on X, Faryar Shirzad, Coinbase’s chief policy officer, said the debate over whether US-issued stablecoins can offer “rewards” under the GENIUS Act could hurt US dollar stablecoins’ global competitiveness. He pointed to a recent announcement from China’s central bank as evidence that rival financial systems are moving quickly to enhance the appeal of state-backed digital money. The People’s Bank of China, China’s central bank, this week outlined a framework that will allow commercial banks to pay interest on balances held in digital yuan wallets starting Jan. 1, 2026. Lu Lei, a deputy governor at ...
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong warned that reopening the GENIUS Act would cross a “red line,” accusing banks of lobbying Congress to block stablecoin rewards and limit competition. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said any attempt to reopen the GENIUS Act would cross a “red line,” accusing banks of using political pressure to block competition from stablecoins and fintech platforms. In a Sunday post on X, Armstrong said he was “impressed” banks could lobby Congress so openly without backlash, adding that Coinbase would continue pushing back on efforts to revise the law. “We won’t let anyone reopen GENIUS,” he wrote. “My prediction is the banks will actually flip and be lobbying FOR the ability to pay interest and yield on stablecoins in a few years, once they realize how big the opportunity is for them. So it’s 100% wasted effort on their part (in addition to being unethical),” Armstrong added. Read more
Philippine regulators are tightening control over crypto access, signaling that global exchanges must secure local licenses to operate. Internet service providers (ISPs) in the Philippines began blocking major crypto trading platforms as regulators moved to enforce local licensing rules on crypto service providers. Users reported that as of Tuesday, access to global cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase and Gemini was unavailable in the Philippines. Cointelegraph independently confirmed that both platforms were inaccessible across multiple local ISPs. A report by the Manila Bulletin said the ISP blocks followed an order from the National Telecommunications Commission, which directed providers to restrict access to 50 online trading platforms flagged by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank, as operating without authorization. Read more
Coinbase is buying The Clearing Company as it expands into prediction markets and broadens its product lineup beyond crypto trading. Coinbase has agreed to acquire The Clearing Company, an on-chain prediction markets startup that spans digital assets, politics, sports and culture, as it expands its push to become an “Everything Exchange” offering a broad range of investment products. In an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Coinbase said it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire The Clearing Company, with the transaction expected to close in January. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition marks a rapid turnaround for The Clearing Company, which was founded earlier this year and counted Coinbase Ventures among its investors in a $15 million funding round alongside Union Square Ventures, Haun Ventures and several other venture firms and angel investors. Read more
The BNPL giant will tap USDC-denominated funding via Coinbase as it explores stablecoins for treasury and capital markets use. Klarna, a Swedish fintech company known for its “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) service, has partnered with crypto exchange Coinbase to add stablecoins to its institutional funding toolkit. Under the arrangement, the global payments and digital banking firm plans to raise short-term funding from institutional investors denominated in USDC (USDC), using Coinbase’s crypto-native infrastructure, according to a Friday announcement. “This is an exciting first step into a new way to raise funding,” Klarna chief financial officer Niclas Neglén said. “Stablecoin connects us to an entirely new class of institutional investors, and gives us the potential to diversify our funding sources in ways that simply weren't possible a few years ago,” he added. Read more
Coinbase Institutional says clearer regulation, stablecoin growth and shifting macro conditions could mark a turning point for crypto markets in 2026. After a year of unexpected turbulence for crypto markets, 2026 could mark a turning point driven by regulatory clarity, accelerating stablecoin adoption and an improving macroeconomic backdrop, according to a new outlook from Coinbase Institutional. In its 70-page report, Coinbase Institutional said digital assets have evolved “from a niche market to an emerging pillar of global market infrastructure,” even as price volatility and uneven liquidity defined much of 2025. Looking ahead, Coinbase’s institutional arm expects clearer global regulatory frameworks to provide stronger policy guardrails, supporting innovation and long-term market maturation. Read more
Coinbase Institutional says clearer regulation, stablecoin growth and shifting macro conditions could mark a turning point for crypto markets in 2026. After a year of unexpected turbulence for crypto markets, 2026 could mark a turning point driven by regulatory clarity, accelerating stablecoin adoption and an improving macroeconomic backdrop, according to a new outlook from Coinbase Institutional. In its 70-page report, Coinbase Institutional said digital assets have evolved “from a niche market to an emerging pillar of global market infrastructure,” even as price volatility and uneven liquidity defined much of 2025. Looking ahead, Coinbase’s institutional arm expects clearer global regulatory frameworks to provide stronger policy guardrails, supporting innovation and long-term market maturation. Read more
Coinbase sued regulators in Connecticut, Illinois and Michigan, arguing CFTC-regulated prediction markets should fall under federal commodities law, not state gambling rules. Coinbase is taking three US states to court in a bid to lock in federal protection for its planned prediction markets, opening a new front in the battle over whether event contracts are finance or gambling. The exchange has sued regulators in Connecticut, Illinois, and Michigan, asking federal judges to declare that prediction markets listed on a US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-regulated platform fall under the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and the CFTC’s claimed exclusive jurisdiction, not 50 separate state gambling codes. In a Friday X post, chief legal officer Paul Grewal said Coinbase filed the cases “to confirm what is clear: prediction markets fall squarely under the jurisdiction of the @CFTC, not any individual state gaming regulator (let alone 50).” Read more
Osborne began advising Coinbase in 2024 and has been critical of the UK government's lack of robust digital asset regulations. Coinbase, the largest US-based crypto exchange, has appointed George Osborne, a former United Kingdom chancellor of the exchequer, to run the company’s internal advisory council. The decision to appoint Osborne, who began working as a Coinbase advisor in 2024 during its battle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is part of Coinbase’s strategy of expanding its influence with foreign governments, according to Reuters. Osborne announced the new lead position on Thursday, framing it as a learning opportunity. He said: Read more
Coinbase expands in Poland with PPro to support Blik, making crypto transactions faster and easier amid stalled local regulations. Major US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is expanding payment options in Poland by integrating with one of the country’s most widely used mobile payment systems. Coinbase has partnered with European payment processor PPro to enable payments via Blik, a popular Polish mobile payment network with nearly 20 million users. The announcement was made by Coinbase executive and NFT Paris co-founder Côme Prost, who joined the exchange in February 2024 to lead its French operations. Read more
Coinbase is racing toward its goal of creating an “everything app” with its platform adding a slew of new offerings, including stock trading and prediction markets. Coinbase is launching stock trading and prediction markets as the crypto exchange looks beyond digital assets to chase its ambition of creating an “everything app.” Coinbase head of consumer and business products, Max Branzburg, announced at the company’s year-end conference that “stock trading is now available on Coinbase.” “This is a major milestone in our plan to enable 24/7 trading of stocks and ETFs from anywhere in the world, powered by crypto,” he said. Read more
The regulatory approval followed an October notice from Coinbase saying that the exchange would be investing an undisclosed amount into the Indian exchange. The Competition Commission of India, the regulatory body responsible for promoting fair competition in the country, has approved Coinbase acquiring a minority stake in cryptocurrency platform CoinDCX. In a Tuesday notice, the regulator said it had approved Coinbase Global’s minority stake acquisition in DCX Global Limited, the company behind CoinDCX. Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal confirmed the news in a Wednesday X post, saying it deepened the exchange’s “long-term partnership with one of India’s most established and trusted digital asset platforms.” Neither the regulatory announcement nor Grewal’s post included information about the percentage of Coinbase’s stake in the crypto exchange. Cointelegraph reached out to a Coinbase spokesperson for comment, but had not received a response at the time of publication. Read more