Coinbase is trying to define the next generation of financial infrastructure: with crypto as the settlement and ownership layer, AI as the intelligent hub, and compliance and user control as the boundaries.

Written by: Maher, Foresight News

On June 17, Coinbase announced a systematic upgrade via social media, listing a series of products and features including AI investment advisors, AI agent trading execution, tokenized stocks, Pre-IPO perpetual contracts, thematic equity index perpetuities, stock and crypto options, upgraded prediction markets, instant token launch channels, USDC-backed credit cards, staking asset lending protection, global unified liquidity pools, modular advanced trading platforms, and multiple infrastructure in the Base ecosystem.

Artiemis CEO commented that Coinbase is the winner of AI-native finance, but the response from U.S. stock market investors was lukewarm. As of today's close, COIN's stock price fell slightly by 0.21%, reporting at 169.27 dollars, with a minor rise of 0.44% in after-hours trading.

AI from "Advising" to "Controlled Execution" Loop

The most highlighted update from Coinbase is Coinbase Advisor. This is an AI-driven in-app investment advisor that has been registered with the SEC (through Coinbase Advisors, LLC as a registered investment advisor), currently available to U.S. Coinbase One members. It provides personalized multi-asset strategy suggestions based on the user's portfolio, real-time news, and internal Coinbase data, including tax-loss harvesting design, transforming breaking news into trading ideas across crypto, prediction markets, and equities. The system emphasizes that it does not automatically execute trades; users still need to make decisions themselves but can access professional-grade analytical support 24/7, lowering the barriers for everyday investors to acquire complex strategies.

Meanwhile, Coinbase for Agents has officially launched, integrating with the Base MCP (Model Context Protocol) and x402 protocol, allowing users to directly connect any AI agents (such as Claude, ChatGPT, etc.) to their Coinbase accounts. Users define agent task boundaries through natural language, for example, "Allocate 60% BTC, 20% ETH, and 20% SOL as target allocation, gradually rebalancing," and the agent can execute spot and derivative trades within isolated sub-accounts or clearly authorized scopes. In terms of security design, agents can only touch the assets and transaction limits explicitly permitted by the user, similar to "gift cards rather than bank accounts."

In terms of tradable asset categories, Coinbase is evolving towards becoming a "full-category asset exchange."

• Tokenized stocks: 1:1 backed by underlying real equity, holders enjoy dividends, shareholder rights, and on-chain utility (lending, staking, gifting, etc.). Supports 24/7 trading and will open to non-U.S. users next month.
• Pre-IPO perpetual contracts and thematic equity index perpetuities: SpaceX and other Pre-IPO perpetual contracts have already been launched as price discovery tools, planned to cover Anthropic, OpenAI, etc.; simultaneously launching thematic equity index perpetual products like AI10, China10, Defense10, Tech100.
• Stock and crypto options: Trading of stock options for major U.S. stocks, indices, and ETFs, as well as crypto options, will be phased in, supported by resources integrated from Deribit and others.
• Prediction market upgrades: New crypto binary contracts (BTC, ETH, SOL, etc., ranging from 15 minutes to annual "up/down" markets) and cross-economic, political, sports, and other multi-category predictions.
• Launches new tab: Supports on-chain native assets' "instant liquidity mapping and second-level trading execution."

These products make Coinbase Advanced trading platform the core entry point for cross-asset execution.

Liquidity, Payments, and Real-World Applications Integration

The Coinbase update also includes the construction of a global unified liquidity pool (U.S. spot + international derivatives + Deribit integration), planned to be implemented in the coming months; Coinbase One Card upgrade—users can stake 500-5000 USDC as collateral and achieve travel expenses with 5% Bitcoin cashback through the Travel Portal in partnership with Booking Holdings/Agoda; staking asset lending has expanded to cbETH (with a higher cap), JitoSOL (with a $100,000 cap), and introduces new liquidation protection mechanisms.

Additionally, the Base ecosystem is advancing simultaneously: B20 serves as the native token standard for Base, supporting any asset; the Base App has launched a web version and enhanced multi-chain support and full asset coverage; enterprise-level private trading and privacy ledger have been launched, allowing organizations to achieve instant settlement without revealing activities on-chain, suitable for B2B payments, private compensation, and other scenarios.

Crypto-backed mortgages have also been emphasized in this update as an important real-world utility case for crypto assets.

The new Coinbase Developer Platform and full-stack payment solutions (USDC, Base native, API-driven) are launched simultaneously, supporting stablecoin payments and agent economy scenarios; transfer protection features enhance the safety of large asset transfers through delayed withdrawals, customizable daily limits, and multi-party approval mechanisms.

The core logic behind this Coinbase update is clear: a deepening of the Everything Exchange strategy. Users no longer need to choose between traditional brokers and crypto platforms; instead, they can achieve coverage for trading, investing, consuming, lending, revenues, and growth through a single account.

Specific reflections are embodied in three main lines: balancing regulatory dividends and global consistency. The CFTC's approval for U.S. users to trade regulated crypto derivatives clears barriers for products like crypto derivatives to return to the U.S. market; simultaneously insisting on the "default global provision" principle, with international liquidity nourishing U.S. users. The "reverse output" of crypto innovation. The perpetual contract mechanism, instant on-chain trading channels, agency wallet, and x402 payment protocol—all crypto-native supportive capabilities—are systematically applied to equity indices, Pre-IPOs, prediction markets, and real assets.

Deep integration of AI and the Agentic Economy. From Coinbase Advisor to Coinbase for Agents + Base MCP + x402 (execution layer, with users in complete control), Coinbase is constructing a closed loop from insight to action while controlling risks through isolated accounts and permission boundaries.

Exchanges like Binance, OKX, and Bitget are also aggressively laying out similar products. Binance has rapidly accumulated considerable trading volume on its SpaceX Pre-IPO perpetual contracts and has integrated on-chain prediction markets; OKX launched Agent Trade Kit and Exchange OS, supporting AI agent automated trading and outcome markets; Bitget Stocks 2.0 has already driven cumulative spot transactions of over 1 billion dollars.

Major offshore trading platforms are accelerating the seamless penetration of liquidity into the digitization of traditional financial assets (TradFi) and AI intelligent trading tracks.

However, Coinbase's strategic thinking places greater emphasis on systematic integration: leveraging its SEC-registered investment advisor qualifications and CFTC derivatives access with tokenized stocks supported by 1:1 real equity, isolated permission controlled execution by agents, and direct connection of crypto assets to Fannie Mae compliant mortgages to build an "Everything Exchange" and the user's primary financial account, rather than merely following product trends.

In the short term, these updates are expected to enhance user engagement duration, trading frequency, and AUM in the Coinbase App, particularly attracting active traders and Coinbase One members. The implementation of the modular Advanced platform and unified liquidity pool will further consolidate its status among institutional and high-net-worth users. The Base Launches channel and agent tools may accelerate on-chain asset discovery and adoption, forming a positive feedback loop.

In the medium to long term, Coinbase is trying to define the next generation of financial infrastructure: with crypto as the settlement and ownership layer, AI as the intelligent hub, and compliance and user control as the boundaries.