Updated on 11 Oct 2026 at 8:55AM (UTC) to include the Coinbase announcement of derivatives products to UK professional investors.
Exchange operator Coinbase announced on 6 Aug the roll out of US equity trading to users in the UK, giving retail customers access to nearly 4,000 American stocks inside the same app they use for crypto.
The assets traded will be conventional equities, rather than tokenized ones, under the MiFID licence Coinbase secured from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on 7 Jul. The exchange says it is the first crypto-native trading app to offer US equities in the UK, although other trading apps have offered such equities on their platforms for some time.
Keith Grose, regional managing director for the UK and Europe at Coinbase told Sandmark that the licence allowed the company expand permissions needed "to deliver additional products to our UK users, including derivatives for professional traders, equities for retail and with the potential for more in the coming months." The product sits alongside the savings and borrowing services Coinbase introduced to the UK earlier this year.
On 11 Aug Coinbase launched a suite of derivatives products spanning crypto, FX and commodities, furthering their drive towards hosting multiple products within the same platform.
Coinbase argued in a blog post announcing the launch that UK retail investors lag behind their American counterparts on stock ownership. The FCA's Financial Lives survey, published in May 2025, found 35% of UK adults held investments in 2024, down from 37% two years earlier, with 19% holding shares in a listed company. The Federal Reserve's most recent Survey of Consumer Finances recorded US household participation in capital markets at 58% in 2022.
Grose framed the launch as an accessibility play. "We hope this launch reduces friction between managing digital assets and traditional ones," he said, adding that the timing is a deliberate response to the hype around AI trade. "Top US equities are some of the hottest capital markets for investors currently in the AI boom," he said.
Among crypto companies operating in the UK, the product is a novelty. Rivals that have introduced tokenized stocks face restrictions reflecting unresolved questions over how such securities are treated under British rules. Kraken's xStocks product has remained unavailable in the UK since its June 2025 debut, while Robinhood limits its stock tokens to EU and EEA customers. UK residents are served through a separate FCA-regulated entity.
The FCA finalized its tokenization rules on 30 Apr and will open its authorization gateway for crypto firms on 30 Sept, although the full regulatory regime is not expected to take effect until October 2027.
Other fintechs and trading firms already featuring similar products include Trading 212, Revolut, eToro and Trade Republic – all offering commission-free or low-cost trading of US shares to British customers.
The UK is Coinbase's biggest market outside the US. Folding equities into its product scope in the zone tests whether it will be able to pull retail investors away from dedicated brokerages as well as attracting them through offering a traditional asset class.
