Overview
- Coinbase, which began rolling out the service on Thursday, is giving eligible UK users the ability to buy, sell and manage nearly 4,000 US equities from the same app they use for crypto and fiat.
- Trades on the new service carry zero commission, support fractional shares from £1, and can be funded with British pounds or USDC with users able to use stablecoin balances directly for stock purchases.
- The platform offers extended hours by operating 24 hours a day, five days a week, which stretches trading beyond standard NYSE and Nasdaq sessions.
- The rollout follows a July FCA investment‑services authorisation that cleared Coinbase to offer regulated equities and opened derivatives access for institutional and advanced traders, while custody and tokenized‑asset plans are being phased and finalised later.
- The move positions Coinbase closer to challengers such as eToro and Revolut and builds on prior UK products like a ClearBank savings account and a Morpho‑backed borrowing product, with some observers saying it could increase platform use and potentially boost crypto demand though that outcome is not assured.