Coinbase takes advantage of US regulation "hitchhiking": White House summit enjoys VIP treatment, tokenized stocks, expansion of enrollment, and mergers and acquisitions rumors

Author:Weilin , PANews

With the adjustment of the Trump administration's crypto regulatory policy, the pattern of the US crypto market has undergone important changes, and Coinbase, as the leading domestic exchange in the United States, is ushering in a series of new changes.

From the easing of the regulatory environment to the expansion of the company's business, Coinbase has made frequent moves recently. In February, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dropped the lawsuit against the company, marking a phased end for tough enforcement of U.S. regulators on the crypto market. At the White House Digital Assets Summit, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong enjoyed "VIP" treatment, further demonstrating the company's lobbying influence in Washington.

Meanwhile, Coinbase plans to expand its recruitment of about 1,000 employees in the United States in 2025 and restart COIN's stock tokenization plan. There are also rumors that the company may usher in mergers and acquisitions, becoming a potential target for traditional exchange acquisitions.

White House Summit: Coinbase CEO enjoys "VIP" treatment, plans to expand

enrollment in the United States by 1,000 people

After Trump's re-election, the first White House Digital Assets Summit in the United States became the focus of attention in the crypto industry, and Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong was undoubtedly one of the most watched executives at the summit. As a representative of the crypto exchange, Armstrong sat fourth from Trump's left, showing his influence among the representatives attending this summit.

The day before the summit, Trump signed an executive order announcing the establishment of strategic Bitcoin reserves and digital asset reserves. Armstrong later said in an interview with the media that he was "absolutely" willing to serve as the government's crypto assets custodian in the context of national reserves, adding that the company has cooperated with multiple government departments in crypto assets custodians and transactions.

Coinbase's performance is also impressive. In 2024, revenue increased by more than doubled to US$6.564 billion and net income reached US$2.6 billion. Among them, revenue in the fourth quarter was US$2.27 billion, an increase of 88% month-on-month.

Armstrong tweeted after the White House summit that the White House Digital Assets Summit was a historic day, and the United States now has strategic Bitcoin reserves and emerging regulatory clarity. This directly translates into US economic growth. In view of this new growth, Coinbase plans to recruit about 1,000 employees in the U.S. this year and will continue to build in the U.S. to ensure the U.S. remains a leading position in technology and finance. As of 2024, Coinbase has 3,772 employees, and the expansion of enrollment is expected to help further consolidate its market position.

SEC withdraws lawsuit against Coinbase, biggest regulatory obstacles

break

Although Coinbase has successfully listed on the Nasdaq as early as 2021, its development has been subject to regulatory resistance from the SEC over the past few years. On March 22, 2023, Coinbase received a Wells notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicating that the SEC plans to take enforcement actions on Coinbase’s pledged products. Coinbase then responded that the investigation was “sloppy” and said it would continue to operate normally. The following month, Coinbase sued the SEC, asking the federal court to force the SEC to respond to Coinbase’s petition the previous year, which required the SEC to clarify cryptocurrency-related regulations.

In June 2023, the SEC announced a lawsuit against Coinbase, accusing it of acting as an unregistered broker, exchange and clearing agency since 2019, and demanded that Coinbase "permanently ban" related businesses. In addition, the SEC accused Coinbase of failing to register its pledge services as required by the U.S. Securities Act.

However, after the Trump administration came to power, senior personnel changes at the SEC. In February 2025, the SEC revoked the lawsuit against Coinbase, ending the legal dispute between the two parties, and Coinbase's future business development has fewer obstacles.

Coinbase restarts tokenized COIN stock plan and adjusts currency listing

mechanism

Changes in the US regulatory environment have brought new market opportunities to Coinbase. On March 6, market news said that Coinbase is re-promoting tokenize its stock COIN as part of a broader effort to introduce securities tokens into the U.S. market. The company first tried the move in 2020 but gave up due to regulatory hurdles. With the establishment of the newly formed cryptocurrency task force of the US SEC, the company sees new opportunities to integrate blockchain-based securities into traditional finance. Coinbase Chief Financial Officer Alesia Haas expressed optimism about regulatory progress at the Morgan Stanley TMT meeting.

“I now believe that our U.S. regulators are looking for product innovation and want to move forward,” Haas said. Haas revealed that Coinbase initially plans to list through issuing securities tokens representing its COIN stock, in line with its vision to integrate blockchain into traditional finance. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong highlighted the potential benefits of tokenized securities, saying they can provide consumers with the ability to trade 24/7.

On March 10, according to the official announcement of Backed, the tokenized version of $wbCOIN of Coinbase stock $COIN has been launched on the Base network. The token is backed by $COIN stock, is freely transferred and has legal claims for the value of $COIN stock. However, Backed stressed that it has no connection with Coinbase and is only interested in the stock.

Meanwhile, Coinbase is adjusting its currency listing mechanism to adapt to the rapidly changing crypto market. CEO Brian Armstrong has proposed to switch to the "blocked list" mode, allowing users and automatic scanning tools to filter scam items instead of pre-approval of tokens.

Armstrong said that due to the huge number of new tokens – close to one million per week, Coinbase’s manual review process can no longer be continued. “Evaluation by one is no longer feasible,” he wrote, adding that even regulators are unable to keep up with the growth rate of new assets. This mechanism is essentially similar to Twitter's "community notes" system, but is applied to the crypto industry.

Merger and acquisition rumors: Coinbase may become the acquisition target

of top exchanges

In addition to business expansion and regulatory breakthroughs, Coinbase is also seen by the market as a potential acquisition target. On March 8, according to Barrons, Coinbase has the conditions to become the acquisition target. If it can be merged with traditional exchanges, it will be able to build a company with both professional knowledge and industry influence, and thus dominate the current fragmented cryptocurrency market. Coinbase's current P/E ratio is about 22 times, with a total market value of about $52 billion, but the ability of large-scale U.S. exchanges make this deal come true.

The New York Stock Exchange's parent company, InterContinental Exchange (ICE), has a market value of up to $100 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 36 times. Kelly Loeffler, the wife of its CEO Jeffrey Sprecher, is a member of the Trump administration's cabinet. The global futures trading giant Chicago Commodity Exchange Group has a market value of US$93 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 26 times. The Nasdaq Exchange is known for its technical strength and global network, with a market value of US$47 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 41 times. If it can cooperate with major U.S. exchanges, Coinbase will be able to open the door to power and markets, and these resources may remain out of reach for it at the moment. Large investors may push a top exchange to acquire Coinbase, and the new company will be able to maximize returns on investment as cryptocurrencies gradually move from financial frontiers to mainstream.

It now seems that with the Trump administration's crypto policy adjustments, the regulatory environment in the crypto industry has undergone drastic changes, and Coinbase is the direct beneficiary of this change. The White House summit, the revocation of SEC lawsuits, the restart of tokenized stock plans, and potential mergers and acquisitions rumors all indicate that the world's leading crypto exchange may enter a new stage of growth, opening up room for imagination for future development.