Coinbase is included in the S&P 500, and the mainstreaming of the cryptocurrency industry is accelerating?

Recently, the financial industry has received a major news: S&P Dow Jones Indices officially announced that the cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase will be included in the S&P 500 index. This change will take effect before the market opens on May 19, and it will replace the traditional financial company Discover Financial. As soon as the news came out, Coinbase's stock price rose sharply on May 13, Eastern Time, and finally closed up 23.97%.

As the first cryptocurrency company to enter the S&P 500 index, Coinbase's joining is undoubtedly a milestone. At present, the company's market value is about 50.8 billion US dollars, and it has long been regarded as a potential member of the S&P 500. Discover Financial Services (DFS), which was replaced, is about to be acquired by Capital One.

Industry experts pointed out that the inclusion of Coinbase marks the official entry of the cryptocurrency industry into the mainstream financial field, which not only means a subtle change in the power structure of Wall Street, but also shows that regulators and traditional investors have significantly increased their acceptance of digital assets. According to the S&P US Index rules, to enter the S&P 500 index, companies must meet a series of strict conditions, including a total market value of at least US$20.5 billion, as well as standards such as listing time, profitability, liquidity and public shareholding.

Coinbase's Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas said that this inclusion in the S&P 500 index is an important milestone for Coinbase and the entire crypto industry. She expects that as the demand for passive allocation of Coinbase stocks increases, institutional funds may accelerate the inflow of funds into the crypto market, thereby indirectly increasing financial support for the crypto market. This trend has also been recognized by industry insiders, who believe that this will not only bring positive signals to the cryptocurrency market, but also attract more investors to pay attention to this emerging asset class.

In fact, institutional funds have become increasingly interested in cryptocurrencies. In addition to allocating Coinbase stocks, many institutions are also actively buying Bitcoin as a choice to hedge against US dollar credit risk and diversify portfolio risks. Data shows that sovereign wealth funds and other institutions bought a large amount of Bitcoin in April 2025 to cope with monetary inflation and macroeconomic uncertainty. The continuous influx of institutional funds is one of the key factors driving the rise in Bitcoin prices.

Looking back at the development history of Coinbase, since it was listed on the Nasdaq exchange on April 13, 2021, it has become the first listed company in the United States in the cryptocurrency industry. At that time, the cryptocurrency market also ushered in its own "Nasdaq moment", and Coinbase's stock price once rose, with a market value of more than 100 billion US dollars. However, as the market fluctuated, its stock price also experienced ups and downs. As of recently, Coinbase's stock price has fallen from its historical highs.

In terms of financial performance, Coinbase's profitability is greatly affected by the bull and bear cycles. According to the company's first-quarter financial report, although subscription and service revenue increased significantly by 86% year-on-year to US$698 million, showing strong resistance to market volatility, trading revenue fell by 19% to US$1.2 billion. This reflects the significant impact of the volatility of crypto market trading volume on Coinbase's performance. The JPMorgan report also pointed out that Coinbase's profitability is highly dependent on transaction fees.

Coinbase is also actively expanding its business. Recently, the company announced plans to acquire Dubai-based Deribit, a platform focusing on Bitcoin and Ethereum futures and options trading, for $2.9 billion. The acquisition is expected to be completed within this year. In the future, with the further expansion of Coinbase, the survival space of small and medium-sized exchanges may be squeezed, and the industry concentration is expected to increase.