Coinbase Plans to Expand Crypto Offerings in Australia After Securing Financial Services Licence

Coinbase is on the brink of expanding its crypto offerings in Australia, which includes derivatives, equities, and payments, after successfully achieving an Australian financial services licence (AFSL). This approval puts Coinbase under Australia's crypto regulatory authority as the country looks to finalise and formalise oversight of crypto platforms. In their announcement, Coinbase expressed that AFSL will subject the exchange to the same conduct, disclosure, governance, and consumer protection requirements as traditional institutions. This authoritsation comes just before an incoming legislation called the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025, which would require all exchanges to hold a license in Australia. 

Licence Approval Comes Ahead of New Digital Assets Law

The crypto firm is also the first exchange to gain the AFSL licence in Australia, which is now a mandatory requirement with the Digital Assets Framework Bill 2025, coming into effect. Besides this, data collected by the Crypto exchange Independent Reserve's Cryptocurrency Index shows that almost 33 percent of Australians have invested in or held crypto up to 2026. 73 percent of Australians consider Bitcoin to be money, a store of value, or an investment asset. These statistics showcase that this bill will work as a boon for the country's digital asset investors. 

With the license, Coinbase Australia will offer crypto and equity perpetuals to Australian investors, followed by futures and options. "We're going to compete with traditional financial services on stock trading, payments, and other TradFi products with the speed and execution of crypto," the company said. The exchange further added that “As we expand the Everything Exchange, we're going to compete with traditional financial services on stock trading, payments, and other TradFi products with the speed and execution of crypto - all from the Coinbase app.”

Coinbase Australia also said that this approval couldn't have come at a better time, as the Corporations Amendment (Digital Assets Framework) Bill 2025 is making it mandatory for crypto platforms to follow the financial services licensing regime. Besides the AFSL, Coinbase has also managed to acquire VASP (Virtual Asset Service Provider) licence in the UK, France, and Bermuda.

Overall, Coinbase's entry into Australia's regulated crypto landscape will reflect a broader shift towards tighter regulatory oversight and institutional alignment. As the new legislation comes into play, the focus will remain on how effectively exchanges adapt to compliance requirements while maintaining user trust and market competitiveness. The evolving regulatory landscape in Australia will play a key role in shaping how digital asset platforms operate and grow in the coming years.