Coinbase has obtained an Australian Financial Services License, allowing it to offer retail derivatives, becoming the first crypto exchange to win that approval as it reinforces its position in a key overseas market.
The license, granted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, gives Coinbase Australia a formal regulatory base as the country moves toward tighter oversight of digital asset platforms.
Approval Opens Door for Broader Product Push
Coinbase said the AFSL would allow it to expand beyond spot cryptocurrency trading and roll out crypto and equity perpetuals in Australia, with futures and options expected to follow.
Under the license, Coinbase Australia will be subject to conduct, disclosure, governance, and consumer protection obligations that apply to traditional financial services providers. The company said the license would help it broaden its local offering as it looks to combine crypto products with services more commonly associated with mainstream finance, including payments and stock trading.
License Lands at Pivotal Moment for Crypto Regulation
Coinbase’s approval comes as Australia presses ahead with a broader effort to bring crypto businesses under the same regulatory umbrella as established financial firms.
The proposed Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 would require digital asset trading platforms and custody providers to obtain an Australian Financial Services License to operate locally, while also introducing clearer legal definitions for digital tokens, exchanges, and custody services in a sector that has long complained of regulatory uncertainty.
The changes would fold much of the sector into existing rules covering consumer protection, market conduct, governance, and disclosure while giving regulators wider oversight of how platforms handle client assets and manage operational risk.
Coinbase said it would remain engaged with ASIC and Australia’s Treasury as the regime takes shape, and said clearer regulation could strengthen consumer safeguards without shutting down innovation.
Expansion Push Extends Beyond Australia
In addition to its Australian push, Coinbase has recently broadened its reach through new products tied to housing finance and tokenized investment offerings.
In the United States, Coinbase partnered with digital mortgage lender Better to roll out a crypto-backed mortgage product that lets homebuyers use bitcoin or USDC held in Coinbase accounts to help finance a home purchase without having to sell those holdings.
Separately, Coinbase Asset Management joined with Apex Group to launch a tokenized share class of its Bitcoin Yield Fund on Base, Coinbase’s layer-2 network, in a move aimed at bringing regulated fund exposure on-chain without loosening compliance safeguards.
Taken together, the two initiatives show Coinbase pushing deeper into corners of finance long dominated by traditional players, from mortgage lending to investment fund distribution, as it looks to widen the use of digital assets beyond trading.
