Coinbase Battles to Stay Ahead as Crypto Competition Heats Up: FT

Coinbase is racing to stay ahead of a wave of new competitors as it pivots from being a pure crypto exchange to a broader financial services ￰0￱ Takeaways: Coinbase is expanding beyond trading into custody, derivatives, and stablecoins as competition ￰1￱ strong ETF custody revenues and new ventures, Coinbase remains heavily exposed to Bitcoin price ￰2￱ fees, still the core of Coinbase’s revenue, rise and fall with crypto market ￰3￱ Bitcoin hitting record highs and US regulation creating fresh momentum for institutional adoption, the company faces growing pressure from both traditional finance and emerging crypto players, according to a new report from the Financial Times .

Coinbase’s UK Crypto Ad Rejected Amid Push to Broaden Services In July, Coinbase launched a high-budget TV ad in the UK that framed cryptocurrency as a solution to a failing financial ￰4￱ ad was rejected for not meeting broadcast standards due to a lack of risk ￰5￱ campaign came as the exchange seeks to expand beyond trading into custody, payments, asset management, and ￰6￱ in 2012, Coinbase entered the S&P 500 this year and now boasts a market cap of $83 ￰7￱ shares have surged 70% since Donald Trump’s election, thanks in part to his administration’s crypto-friendly stance. However, second-quarter earnings disappointed , and the stock dropped 15%, signaling investor caution.

A growing concern is the company’s exposure to the price of ￰8￱ fees, still the core of Coinbase’s revenue, rise and fall with crypto market ￰9￱ have released a brilliant advert that rips the piss out of the current dire state of the UK. Let's be honest, it's funny and feels pretty ￰10￱ is what this disastrous Labour has reduced us to. We're now a global laughing ￰11￱ — Lee Harris (@addicted2newz) August 2, 2025 Fee compression and competition from Asian exchanges are also eating into its ￰12￱ has secured its position as custodian for eight of the top 11 US Bitcoin ETFs, earning $43 million in the last quarter of 2024 from that alone. However, new legislation could open the door for traditional custodians like State Street and BNY Mellon to enter the market , threatening Coinbase’s ￰13￱ firm is also eyeing tokenized stock trading and small business banking services, while leaning heavily into stablecoins and ￰14￱ from its USDC stablecoin partnership with Circle now trail only trading, while staking offers high-margin returns and ￰15￱ its boldest move yet, Coinbase acquired crypto derivatives platform Deribit for $2.9 billion , signaling its intention to dominate that ￰16￱ company has also partnered with banks like JPMorgan and PNC to bridge crypto and traditional ￰17￱ its expansion, analysts say Coinbase’s fortunes remain tightly tethered to Bitcoin’s ￰18￱ Names Coinbase a 2025 ‘Disruptor’ Among Most Influential Companies As reported, TIME has recognized Coinbase as one of 2025’s 100 Most Influential Companies , labeling the crypto exchange a “disruptor” for its significant role in shaping US digital asset policies and ￰19￱ noted the exchange as a key driver behind the industry’s policy efforts and predicted Coinbase could become the central hub for crypto trading in the ￰20￱ the US, Coinbase is broadening its reach in Europe, securing a license under the EU’s MiCA regulatory framework through Luxembourg’s financial regulator.

Notably, Coinbase also continued its corporate Bitcoin ￰21￱ Q2, the company purchased 2,509 BTC for approximately $222 million, lifting its total holdings to 11,776 BTC and placing it back among the top 10 public holders of the asset, just ahead of Tesla by coin count.