Coinbase is preparing to turn Canada into one of its first test beds for an “Everything Exchange” – a single app where users can trade crypto, buy tokenised stocks and access a range of traditional-style financial products powered by blockchain.
The US-based exchange’s Canadian arm is now moving beyond its initial role as a regulated crypto trading venue and towards what it describes as a full-spectrum financial platform, Eric Richmond, country director and chief executive of Coinbase Canada, told BNN Bloomberg.
“If you think about our current financial sector and system today, it really is due for an upgrade. And Coinbase believes we have a new technology here that can really help with that, and that’s blockchain and the technology that underpins crypto today,” Richmond said.
He said “chapter one” for Coinbase in Canada was securing regulatory footing as a crypto exchange. The second phase, now under way, is to fold more asset classes and services into a unified application.
“But now phase two of that is the Everything Exchange. How do we create that one place for Canadians to have their entire financial experience in one app that’s underpinned by this technology that makes things frictionless, seamless, and 24/7?” he said.
Coinbase has not given a launch date but says it is working closely with Canadian regulators as it designs the new offering.
Tokenised stocks to launch outside US
A central plank of the strategy is tokenised equities – blockchain-based versions of company shares.
Richmond said Coinbase plans to begin offering tokenised stocks to customers outside the United States later this month. The firm has previously stressed that, unlike synthetic products, these tokens are to be backed one-for-one by real shares, giving holders the same economic rights as conventional investors.
“I think this is something that’s really unique and novel and exciting,” Richmond said.
He argued that tokenisation will make certain investments easier to access and manage.
“It provides access to more individuals to certain types of stocks. It enhances collateral management, and so there’s a lot of positives there,” he said.
Under the model described by Richmond, listed companies would not need to issue blockchain-native shares themselves. Instead, brokers or dealers could convert existing equity into tokenised form while preserving underlying ownership rights. He added that some firms are also exploring issuing tokenised versions of their own shares directly.
Coinbase first outlined its tokenised stock plans in June, positioning them as a core feature of its Everything Exchange roadmap alongside stock options, prediction markets, pre-IPO products and other traditional-style instruments.
Stablecoin rules key to payments plans
Beyond investment products, Coinbase is watching Ottawa’s approach to stablecoin regulation before it rolls out more payment services in Canada.
The exchange currently supports USD Coin (USDC), a US dollar-pegged stablecoin, but Richmond said Coinbase does not yet list a major Canadian dollar stablecoin because no existing token meets domestic regulatory listing requirements.
Richmond said proposed Canadian legislation would allow digital versions of the Canadian dollar to be treated as payment instruments rather than investment products, something he believes would boost public trust and usage.
“That’s what the Stablecoin Act is really about: to ensure that we regulate stablecoins as payments, not as investments here in the country, so people can be comfortable and feel confident when they’re interacting in a Canadian dollar stablecoin,” he said.
He added that properly regulated stablecoins could cut both the cost and time of cross-border transfers, as transactions can settle almost instantly, in contrast to the days sometimes required by traditional banking rails.
Citing industry data, Richmond pointed to about $1.8tn in stablecoin transaction volume in June, describing it as a 125% jump on the same month a year earlier. He acknowledged that rules have lagged behind technological change, but said recent legislative work on stablecoins in Canada was “encouraging”.
Global expansion as Canada competition looms
The Canadian initiative is part of a wider expansion drive by Coinbase.
Earlier this month, the company secured authorisation under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regime via Luxembourg, enabling it to offer regulated services across all 27 EU member states, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The approval comes as some rival exchanges without MiCA licences have scaled back or halted operations in parts of Europe after the bloc’s transition period ended.
In Asia, Coinbase has eased its onboarding rules for mainland Chinese users, allowing them to verify their identity with Chinese national ID cards and mainland residential addresses instead of a Chinese passport and Hong Kong address. While the company has not framed the move as a formal return to China, investors see it as lowering barriers for users in the region.
Back in Canada, Richmond expects the Everything Exchange to intensify competition with banks, brokerages and other incumbents as blockchain-based services become more mainstream.
“Rising tide lifts all boats,” he said.
Richmond argued that consumers are increasingly questioning why legacy financial infrastructure is constrained by office hours and slow settlement, while blockchain networks operate continuously.
“I think people are starting to realize the fact that banks close at 4 p.m., or the markets close at 4 p.m., or that wires can take days to settle, or that access for high-net-worth individuals to certain products are gated for just those high-net-worth individuals,” he said.
Over the next year, he said his main objective is to broaden the suite of products offered to Canadian customers so that more of their financial activities can be carried out through a single Coinbase platform rather than across multiple providers.
