Coinbase Expands Into Prediction Gambling Markets Across the US and Beyond

After being solely committed to crypto, Coinbase has decided to expand its horizons and become the ultimate trading platform for everything. The company has some big news about its change of identity from a simple crypto exchange to what they call an “everything exchange.” Read more below.

It is about real-world assets, traditional stocks, early-stage token offerings, derivatives and even prediction markets. Positioning President of Product at Coinbase, Max Branzburg, delivered the scoop during a recent CNBC chat. He pointed out that the change will not be there overnight – they intend to do a “staggered global deployment,” which is very much reliant on regulators in different countries giving their consent. A very sensible decision indeed, given how tough the financial authorities can be with new trading platforms.

This shift is totally understandable if you examine the current market situation. By looking at Kalshi, for instance, the success of this prediction market platform in the entertainment and sports betting sectors is simply phenomenal. They have opened the door for a lot of money to be made in alternative trading products, and the traditional financial instruments should be very careful.

Coinbase is certainly not the only one who is opting for this alternative. Robinhood has been going through an extensive diversification process to plant their flag in as many financial sectors as possible. While that is going on, Gemini and Kraken, two of the crypto competitors, are also taking steps to broaden their area of influence and claim a larger portion of the financial pie.

The truth is that it is one thing for them to desire to be the financial institution that offers all the services, and it is another thing entirely for them to actually do it. Regulations will be a labyrinth for Coinbase to go through and on top of that, they will have to take on the Old Wall players who have been in the business for a long time.