Coinbase wins Australia licence for retail derivatives

Coinbase Australia has received an Australian Financial Services Licence from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, including authorisation for retail derivatives.

According to Coinbase, it is the first crypto exchange to receive this approval directly from ASIC. The licence gives its local unit a regulated foundation to expand its product range in Australia.

It plans to begin by offering crypto and equity perpetuals to Australian customers, then add futures and options, and later expand into stock trading, payments, and other financial services through a single app.

The approval comes before the expected rules that will require digital asset exchanges to hold an Australian financial services licence. That puts Coinbase ahead of anticipated changes under the Corporations Amendment (Digital Asset Platforms) Bill 2025, which is intended to bring crypto platforms within the existing financial services licensing framework.

Market focus

Australia has long been a market for Coinbase, which says it has served customers there since 2016. It established Coinbase Australia as a local entity in 2022, registered with AUSTRAC, and introduced local services including PayID support, Retail Advanced Trading and 24/7 customer support.

The company has also sought to deepen its local presence through industry and academic links. It pointed to working with RMIT's Blockchain Innovation Hub on Web3 research, membership of the Digital Economy Council of Australia and engagement with policymakers on crypto regulation.

Coinbase has also expanded its Australian team with hires in legal, compliance, marketing and operations. Those functions are likely to become more important as it moves from a crypto trading offering to a broader set of regulated products.

Regulatory standards

The licence subjects Coinbase Australia to the same standards on conduct, disclosure, governance and consumer protection as other financial services providers in the country. For a sector that has often operated outside traditional licensing structures, it brings the local unit more firmly within Australia's established regulatory system.

Adam Judd, Chief Operating Officer of Coinbase Australia, will serve as the AFSL responsible manager. Coinbase said Judd was previously an executive manager at CommSec, where he oversaw complex product lines during a period of regulatory change, and, before that, spent more than a decade at ASIC in senior regulatory and market-structure roles.

Responsible managers are central to how licensed financial firms demonstrate competence and oversight under Australia's regime. Judd's background in both regulation and brokerage gives Coinbase a senior executive with direct experience of the standards applied to mainstream financial institutions.

Broader shift

The development comes as Australian policymakers work to put digital asset businesses on a clearer legal footing. A series of collapses and failures in parts of the global crypto market has increased pressure on regulators to require stronger governance, disclosure and consumer safeguards from exchanges and related service providers.

Against that backdrop, a local licence could help Coinbase distinguish itself from rivals still waiting for the new framework to take effect. It also gives the company a route into the retail derivatives market in a country with strong consumer interest in digital assets.

Perpetuals, a type of derivative contract without a fixed expiry date, have been a major driver of trading activity across offshore crypto venues. Bringing such products into a licensed domestic structure may be closely watched by market participants and policymakers, particularly regarding retail investor protections.

"Today's announcement reflects years of investment in Australia and our commitment to operating at the highest standards of consumer protection and regulatory compliance," said John O'Loghlen, Regional Managing Director APAC at Coinbase. "With this licence, we can bring the first products of the Everything Exchange to Australian customers, crypto and equity perpetuals. And we have plans to soon be competing with traditional financial services on products like stock trading, foreign exchange, and structured products, all with the speed and transparency that crypto-native infrastructure enables."

Coinbase also presented the approval as support for a more formal regulatory model for the sector in Australia, where officials have been developing rules to bring crypto trading venues under the same broad system that governs other financial firms.

"We have long believed that thoughtful regulation is good for customers, good for the industry, and good for Australia's ambition to be a leading digital economy in the Asia-Pacific region," O'Loghlen said. "We look forward to continuing to work alongside ASIC and Treasury to help shape a regulatory environment that protects consumers, fosters innovation, and positions Australia for leadership in the global digital economy."