Coinbase Builds Super App While Metaplanet Launches US Trading: Two Expansion Strategies Compared

Coinbase Transforms Into Comprehensive Financial Platform

US crypto exchange Coinbase is executing a strategic expansion, positioning itself as an all-in-one platform that unites traditional financial markets (TradFi) with the blockchain world ^[2]. Through a comprehensive product offensive, the company aims to capture market share from both fintechs like Robinhood and decentralized protocols simultaneously ^[2].

Commission-Free Stock Trading Around the Clock

Through its new service "Coinbase Capital Markets," US customers will be able to trade stocks and ETFs commission-free directly alongside their crypto holdings ^[2]. The offering includes select securities that investors can trade 24 hours a day, five days a week ^[2]. Long-term, Coinbase plans to tokenize these Real World Assets (RWA) and is preparing an institutional platform for 2026 ^[2].

Jupiter Integration Brings Millions of Solana Tokens

For crypto natives, Coinbase is integrating Jupiter, the leading Solana DEX aggregator, directly into its user interface ^[2]. Users can thereby trade millions of Solana tokens immediately upon launch without leaving the app or manually connecting wallets ^[2]. Jupiter handles price discovery while Coinbase controls custody and user experience ^[2].

Event Betting and Custom Stablecoins

Through a partnership with regulated platform Kalshi, Coinbase is also opening access to event betting for its users ^[2]. Investors can speculate on election outcomes or economic data starting at just one US dollar, with positions appearing seamlessly alongside their spot portfolio ^[2]. This move responds to the massive hype around Polymarket ^[2].

With "Custom Stablecoins," Coinbase further enables companies to issue their own branded stablecoins, flexibly backed by USDC ^[2]. In parallel, the company is rolling out the x402 payment standard, which allows AI agents to conduct autonomous transactions—a future market already generating $200 million in annualized volume ^[2].

Metaplanet Launches US Trading via Deutsche Bank

In a different form of expansion, Japanese Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet has launched an American Depositary Receipt (ADR) program under the ticker MPJPY ^[1]. The program was established through a sponsored level trust agreement with Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas as depositary and MUFG Bank as custodian in Japan ^[1].

American Depositary Receipts are financial instruments issued by US banks that represent shares in non-US companies. They enable US investors to buy and sell shares of foreign firms without having to trade directly on foreign exchanges ^[1].

"The ADRs are not intended to raise funds, but rather to finance the issuance of common shares and preferred shares by the company," Metaplanet explained ^[1].

Bitcoin Purchases Paused Since September

The launch of the MPJPY ADR program comes at a time when Metaplanet's Bitcoin purchases have come to a halt ^[1]. After the company acquired around 29,000 Bitcoin in 2025, Metaplanet suspended purchases in September, with the last acquisition dated September 29 ^[1]. Since launching its Bitcoin acquisition strategy in April 2024, Metaplanet has accumulated a total of 30,823 BTC, establishing itself as one of the world's largest digital asset treasuries alongside Michael Saylor's Strategy ^[1].