Coinbase Global (NASDAQ:COIN) executives and industry stakeholders discussed crypto market dynamics, US regulations, and the company’s efforts to expand beyond crypto trading during a recent event featuring Coinbase CFO Alicia Haas and Morgan Stanley’s Global Head of Fintech, Jigar Patel.
Haas said that Coinbase is “no stranger to volatility,” but described the current cycle as different from previous downturns like 2022 because price declines and volatility are “really fundamental-led.” She attributed the change to the growth of crypto ETFs and the expansion of the mainstream, which increased institutional participation and, in turn, increased crypto’s correlation with macro events and risk-averse sentiment.
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On Coinbase’s platform, Haas said retail behavior is consistent with past declines: Many buyers hold assets during major declines, while active users “take the dip.” She added that Coinbase has also seen a shift from “speculation to use,” citing stablecoins as an example. Haas noted that USDC market capitalization has only fallen slightly compared to broader crypto price movements, which he attributes to the growth of stablecoin usage.
Regarding the US law, Haas said that Coinbase believes the industry can reach a crypto market structure law this spring, and that the companies are engaged in ongoing discussions around clearer legislation. She said Coinbase is seeking “clear rules” on asset classification and which regulators monitor which assets.
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Haas clarified the ongoing debate about stablecoin rewards and yields – specifically, “who can pay rewards in stablecoins” and what that means for banks and other participants. She said Coinbase believes there is a “win-win” solution and has framed the issue as central to protecting customer interests and a stable economy.
She also pointed to the SEC’s recent clarification on stablecoin collateral haircuts, describing it as a guideline that treats stablecoin collateral “similar to a money market” with a “2% haircut.” Haas said that such transparency could support wider adoption, especially for 24/7 markets where stablecoins serve as “important payment legs” for branded products.
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Tokenization was presented as the next regulatory pillar. Haas said Coinbase has been actively meeting with the SEC and cited “30 meetings over the past year” that focused on regulations surrounding tokenized securities. She distinguished “true tokenized securities” from derivative-like products abroad and emphasized Coinbase’s interest in tokenized equities that could be used in conjunction with DeFi protocols.
Haas said Coinbase’s strategy is focused on expanding both the way customers transact and expanding the assets available on the platform. She highlighted the move from spot crypto to derivatives, describing derivatives as Coinbase’s “second pillar of business.” She said Coinbase introduced “24/7 perpetual-style futures” in the U.S. last year and has seen significant growth, including a doubling of trading volume year-over-year in terms of market share and overall fantasy driven by derivatives.
Haas also discussed the company’s acquisition of Deribit, calling it the market leader in crypto options and describing it as a major step in expanding its product depth. She said Coinbase now aims to offer multiple “pillars” of asset types side by side and bring those assets on-chain over time.
Recent launches discussed include:
Equity trading: Hass said Coinbase began trading equity to all retailers in recent weeks. While she said it was too early to provide statistics, she described the early engagement as encouraging. She also mentioned a partnership with Yahoo, enabling users to research stocks on Yahoo and “click through Coinbase” to buy.
Prediction Markets: Hass said the product is integrated into the main Coinbase app, with Coinbase currently partnering with Clear Street as an introducing broker bringing functionality to the Clear Street platform. She said it was too early for adoption metrics and that the near-term focus was on iterating the product to existing customers before using it as a marketing-driven acquisition channel.
Coin base: Hass said Coinbase One has grown to nearly 1 million paying customers. She highlighted new benefits last year, including a Coinbase One credit card with “up to 4% Bitcoin” rewards on spending and gating USDC rewards behind a Coinbase One membership. Haas described these benefits as creating a flywheel of deep engagement, including holding USDC, earning rewards, and the potential for increased trading, diversification, and contribution.
Haas also discussed Coinbase’s application for an OCC charter, saying it would provide federal jurisdiction for its custody business and allow the company to hold more assets “under one license.” She said Coinbase currently holds more than 12% of the total crypto market cap and more than double the closest competitor the company can identify.
For institutional customers, Haas described the “everything exchange” roadmap as “stocking the shelves” with integrated products, with a key priority being the integration of Debate so options can be offered alongside fixed futures and spot crypto. She said the main underlying objective is deep liquidity and cross-margining to grow investable businesses.
Haas also explained Coinbase’s developer platform and white label offerings, positioning Coinbase as infrastructure for banks and fintech. She said Coinbase has won 80% of ETF custody so far and is white-labeling tools including custody and exchange access, enabling institutions to offer crypto trading to end users. Hass said Coinbase works with five G-SIBs and has “over 250” fintech and corporate builds in its developer toolkits, with money flowing through low, volume-based institutional rates.
Haas called stablecoins the “digital dollar,” emphasizing global, cheap, fast transactions and self-protection. While acknowledging the sensitivity to interest rates, she argued that the major trend is money moving to low-friction trains, demonetization and delivery versus payment (DVP) needed to support stable growth. Haas also noted an “all-time high in underlying transactions” driven by agentic commerce and payments use cases.
Regarding the competitive dynamics, Haas said that the market is in a “decentralization era” for both protocols and Stalkcoins, and that the long-term winners will be driven by network effects, liquidity, and regulatory compliance (including US requirements in the EU and MiCA). She added that Coinbase supports sharing rewards as part of building its network effects.
Regarding capital allocation, Haas said that Coinbase promises to be EBITDA positive in all operating environments and allocates a percentage of operating income to ongoing purchases of Bitcoin, describing the method as weekly dollar cost averaging. As for repurchasing shares, she said the company’s purchases are meant to be dilution and opportunistic during price volatility. Haas said that Coinbase sold $1.7 billion in mid-February (between Q4 and mid-February) and that the board authorized an additional $2 billion for future reductions.
Hass said Coinbase closed 10 acquisitions last year, with Deribit being the largest and Echo the second largest, including smaller deals and rental acquisitions. She described Deribit as an example of “1 + 1 equals 3” transactions, post-acquisition volume growth, improved counterparty perception from institutions due to Coinbase’s balance sheet, and both revenue and cost synergies.
On AI, Haas said that Coinbase now expects AI expertise in hiring and is encouraging “late-up” applications where teams automate their processes. She pointed to improvements in consumer and compliance support, including chain-of-transit monitoring and support queues that are “80%-90%” handled by agents in some areas, and an administrative onboarding workflow where agents digest customer information for compliance and onboarding decisions.
She also highlighted the risk of quantum computing, saying that Coinbase has created a research team to monitor and help with protocol updates, while noting that it is not the company’s biggest concern today.
Looking ahead five to 10 years, Haas said investors often focus more on near-term volatility and the long-term trend of assets moving up the chain. She reiterated her view that “we will target everything” and that over time, the technology will become “China native” and largely invisible to users—similar to how markets no longer talk about physical storage certificates.
Coinbase Global, Inc. is a US-based company that operates one of the largest cryptocurrency exchange platforms. Founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsham and headquartered in San Francisco, Coinbase provides the technology and infrastructure to buy, sell, store and use a wide range of digital assets. The company became a public company through a direct listing on NASDAQ in April 2021 and offers tailored services to both retail and institutional clients.
Coinbase’s product portfolio includes its consumer trading platform, a self-sustaining mobile wallet, and institutional services such as custody, principal brokerage and execution tools.
The article “Coinbase Global Conference: CFO Haas Exchange Everything Amid Volatility, Regulation Talks” was originally published by MarketBeat.
