Kraken, Coinbase expand into stock trading as equities outperform crypto

Crypto platforms are sharpening their focus on traditional finance investors as a new wave of hybrid financial products reshapes market structure.

The first meaningful bridge between digital assets and traditional markets emerged through crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

These vehicles gave institutional and retail TradFi investors regulated exposure to digital assets such as Bitcoin, drawing approximately $54.4 billion in Asset Under Management (AUM).

That success demonstrated sustained demand for structured crypto-linked products.

Now, exchanges are taking the next step by introducing stock-based trading features and positioning themselves as comprehensive financial platforms capable of capturing a broader share of global capital flows.

Kraken, Coinbase target traditional finance investors

On the 24th of February, Kraken announced the launch of xStock perpetual Futures contracts, enabling 24/7 trading of tokenized equities backed 1:1 by their underlying shares.

The exchange confirmed that the product will be accessible to users in more than 110 countries.

Through instruments such as SPYx Perps, QQQx Perps, and GLDx Perps, investors can gain exposure to major benchmarks and commodities while tracking their respective underlying assets—the S&P 500, Nasdaq 100, and gold.

Kraken’s perpetual stock contracts will support leverage of up to 20x, offering significantly greater exposure than traditional spot equity trading.

Coinbase, in contrast, has opted to focus on spot equity trading. Its recent partnership with Yahoo Finance allows users to trade selected stocks directly within the Coinbase One app.

While Kraken offers continuous 24/7 trading, Coinbase’s stock trading will operate around the clock but remain limited to five days per week, aligning more closely with traditional equity market structure.

The company also disclosed plans to roll out tokenized U.S. equities and tokenized perpetual stock products later this spring.

Mark Greenberg, Kraken’s Global Head of Consumer, described the initiative as “a new chapter for global capital markets,” stating:

Expansion comes amid crypto market contraction

The expansion into equities comes at a time when liquidity has tightened significantly across the cryptocurrency market, prompting investors to reassess asset allocation.

At the time of writing, approximately $2.03 trillion has exited the crypto market, leaving total capitalization near $2.24 trillion.

A further 2.5% decline would effectively bring cumulative capital outflows in line with current market value.

Technical data show the crypto market has fallen 47.5% since the October 6, 2025 crash. On a year-to-date basis, it has declined 30.8%.

By comparison, the S&P 500 (blue line)—widely used as a benchmark for U.S. publicly traded equities—has gained 17% over the same post-crash period and recorded only a 2.74% drawdown since the start of the year.

With equities outperforming digital assets, Kraken and Coinbase appear to be positioning themselves to capture capital rotation rather than compete against it.

The strategy could expand user engagement and diversify revenue streams, particularly as Coinbase reports a 22% decline in fourth-quarter revenue.

In the near term, investors continue to accumulate crypto-related equities. Over the past 24 hours, these stocks have risen approximately 3.4%, while market capitalization reached $1.8 billion, according to SosoValue.

Final Summary

• Kraken and Coinbase are moving to attract institutional capital by integrating stock trading into their platforms.
• Equities have outperformed the broader crypto market since the crash on the 6th of October.