New York, Feb 27, 2026, 14:21 EST — Regular session
- Coinbase dropped 4.6%, landing at $172.70 as of the afternoon session.
- U.S. producer inflation came in hotter than expected, unsettling risk assets and dampening rate-cut bets.
- Coinbase plans to launch commission-free trading for stocks and ETFs, aiming to expand its business outside of crypto.
Coinbase Global, Inc. shares dropped 4.6% to $172.70 on Friday, giving back some of their recent gains as traders weighed new inflation numbers and pulled back from risk plays. Over the last 52 weeks, the stock has swung from $139.36 up to $444.65.
This move is significant. Coinbase wants to be more than just another crypto exchange—it’s aiming for stickiness. Trading fees remain at the mercy of crypto price and volume swings, so investors are keeping an eye on whether fresh products can help iron out those bumps.
Coinbase rolled out commission-free stock and ETF trading for all U.S. users this week, linking the new feature directly with Yahoo Finance. The move, the company said, is meant to let customers shift from research straight to trading in one seamless process.
Coinbase is rolling out weekday “24/5” trading—meaning traders can buy and sell 24 hours a day during the five-day workweek. Fractional shares will be available from just $1, and users have the option to fund trades using either USD or USD Coin, as detailed in a company post shared by Markets Media. The firm also confirmed its integration with Apex Fintech Solutions for clearing, custody, and execution. On top of that, Coinbase is looking to expand “stock perpetuals”—a derivative contract without an expiry date—to non-U.S. traders, although that’s still subject to regulatory sign-off. Markets Media
Coinbase shares soared over 13% on Wednesday, propelled by the company’s stock-trading news. CEO Brian Armstrong described the launch as a “big moment” and said, “The everything exchange is growing,” according to Investopedia. Investopedia
The market lost its footing Friday after January’s U.S. producer prices came in 0.5% higher, outpacing expectations and bolstering calls for the Federal Reserve to hold rates steady through the first half. “Given still-buoyant core inflation and the recent firming of job gains, we expect the Fed to remain on pause,” Nationwide senior economist Ben Ayers told Reuters. Reuters
Bitcoin slipped nearly 3.5%, trading around $65,300. Coinbase shares often mirror moves in the crypto space—trading volumes climb with bitcoin surges and fall back as the price drops.
The equities rollout ramps up Coinbase’s rivalry with Robinhood Markets—originally a stock trading app that later added crypto and more. SoFi Technologies, too, has been expanding its lineup of consumer finance offerings. Traders tend to treat these names as a package whenever crypto prices or risk appetite jump around.
The shift isn’t without complications. Trading stocks outside regular hours often runs into thin liquidity, and price swings can be abrupt. Regulators haven’t exactly embraced tokenized stocks or equity-linked derivatives. If crypto keeps dropping, rolling out fresh stock features might not do much to lift trading volumes.
Now, traders are watching to see if the rollout leads to sustained action rather than just a brief headline move, and if Coinbase will offer any clearer timeline for tokenized equities outside of its vague “coming months” remark. The company’s next earnings report lands May 7. Investing
