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Cryptocurrency exchanges are expanding beyond buying and selling crypto. The largest platforms now report offerings that include derivatives, staking, borrowing, payments, stablecoins, token discovery, subscriptions and infrastructure for businesses. Coinbase and Binance illustrate the range, but their products—and the risks and jurisdictions attached to them—are not representative of every exchange.
“Diversification” can mean adding a new product for customers, serving a new type of customer, or earning revenue from services beyond trading. Here are 14 distinct ways that expansion is taking shape, and what each means for users.
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How exchanges are expanding their products
1. Derivatives, including perpetual-style futures
Derivatives let customers take positions based on an asset’s price without simply buying that asset for spot ownership. Coinbase said it offered 24/7 U.S. perpetual-style futures during 2025 and reported derivatives adoption among consumer and institutional customers in Q1 2026. Product availability and contract terms depend on eligibility and jurisdiction. Leverage can magnify losses, and liquidation can occur; these products are not a routine substitute for a spot purchase. Coinbase’s February 12, 2026 results release and its Q1 2026 results describe the company’s offerings and adoption.
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2. Options and derivatives infrastructure
Options give buyers and sellers contract rights and obligations tied to an underlying asset, with value affected by factors beyond its current price. Coinbase said it had closed its acquisition of Deribit and described itself as a global leader by open interest and options volume. That leadership description is Coinbase’s characterization, not an independent ranking. The company’s release gives its account of the acquisition and strategy.
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3. Prediction markets
Prediction markets let eligible users trade contracts linked to an event’s outcome. Coinbase reported that prediction markets reached $100 million in annualized revenue in March 2026, during their first two full months live after a U.S. launch. This is a rate calculated from March revenue, not $100 million earned over a completed year. Contract availability and legal treatment can vary by location. Coinbase’s Q1 2026 release reports the figure.
4. Equities and other asset classes
Some platforms are trying to make more than crypto available through one account. Coinbase said it launched equities and prediction markets as part of its effort to broaden the asset classes on its platform. That statement does not establish that every equity product is available in every region, or that an exchange account provides the same ownership, protections or trading conditions as a traditional brokerage account. Check the product’s legal structure and local availability. Coinbase’s FY2025 release describes the launches.
How exchanges add financial services around crypto
5. Staking
Staking involves committing eligible crypto to support a proof-of-stake blockchain. Coinbase says protocol rewards are paid in the network asset, and its supported-asset list is subject to jurisdiction. Rewards are not guaranteed interest: the token’s price can fall, networks may impose lockups or penalties for validator failures, and platform arrangements add their own risks. Read the protocol and platform terms, including how quickly assets can be unstaked and whether slashing could reduce holdings. Coinbase’s 2025 Form 10-K filed with the SEC describes staking and eligibility caveats.
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6. Borrowing and lending
Exchange-branded borrowing and lending can refer to materially different arrangements: a customer borrowing against collateral, a customer lending assets under specified terms, or credit extended to institutional clients. Coinbase reported growth in Borrow/Lend balances in Q1 2026 and discusses lending tools in its annual report. Before comparing a product with a bank deposit, identify who owes the money, what collateral is held, how liquidation works, whether assets can be withdrawn on demand and what happens if a counterparty fails. Coinbase’s Q1 2026 release and its 2025 Form 10-K describe the company’s activity.
7. Custody and safekeeping
Custody services hold or safeguard digital assets for customers, particularly institutions. Coinbase identifies institutional custody and safekeeping among its services; Binance’s account of its Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) framework includes custody as a regulated function. The provider, legal entity, jurisdiction, asset segregation and control of private keys all matter. “Custody” does not by itself tell a customer who can move assets, what protections apply if the provider fails, or whether the customer holds the keys. Binance’s January 8, 2026 year-end report summary describes the ADGM framework; Coinbase discusses its services in its FY2025 release.
8. Stablecoins
Stablecoins are designed to track a reference value, often a currency, but a target price is not a guarantee of risk-free value or immediate redemption. Coinbase highlighted USDC balances held in its products and its role distributing USDC. The stablecoin issuer’s reserves and redemption terms are separate from the exchange interface through which a user buys, holds or transfers it. Check who issues the token, what backs it, who can redeem it and whether redemption is available to you. Coinbase’s FY2025 release and Q1 2026 release describe its USDC activity.
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9. Payments and transfers
Payment tools let users send crypto or stablecoins, pay participating merchants, or transfer value across borders. Coinbase lists spending and global transfers; Binance reported more than 20 million merchants reached by Binance Pay in 2025. That is Binance’s company-reported reach figure, not a guarantee that every listed merchant accepts payment in a user’s location. Payment availability, settlement, conversion and fees depend on market and merchant support. Sources: Coinbase’s FY2025 release and Binance’s 2025 year-end summary.
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Exchanges also compete to make it easier to move between local currency and crypto. Bank transfers, card purchases and withdrawals can bring new users onto a platform and make it useful beyond trading. Binance reported 38% growth in fiat volume during calendar year 2025. This is a company-reported figure for Binance, not an industry-wide trend or a measure of growth in every market. Payment methods and access vary by country. Binance’s year-end summary reports the metric.
How exchanges connect users to broader digital-asset ecosystems
11. In-app access to decentralized exchanges
A centralized exchange may add an interface for accessing decentralized exchanges (DEXs), where trades execute through blockchain protocols rather than the exchange’s conventional custodial order book. Coinbase reported that native DEX integration in its app helped double DEX trading volume quarter over quarter in Q1 2026. The in-app interface does not make an onchain trade equivalent to a custodial exchange trade: users may face smart-contract vulnerabilities, network fees, token risks and irreversible transactions. Coinbase’s Q1 2026 release attributes the volume change to the integration.
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12. Web3 discovery and token launches
Discovery tools surface new tokens and blockchain projects, sometimes alongside rewards or airdrop campaigns. Binance describes Alpha 2.0 as an integrated discovery surface and reports usage and rewards during 2025. Discovery is not the same as admission to an exchange’s core order book, and a campaign is not proof of a token’s quality. New tokens may have thin liquidity, volatile prices, technical vulnerabilities or unclear disclosures. Binance’s year-end report summary describes Alpha 2.0 and its reported activity.
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13. Subscriptions and bundled features
Subscriptions can package account features or convenience services for a recurring fee. Coinbase reported nearly one million paid Coinbase One subscribers in 2025. Subscriber count alone does not establish whether a plan is worthwhile for a particular user: compare the recurring price, included benefits, exclusions and eligibility in your country with the services you would otherwise use. Coinbase’s FY2025 release reports the subscriber figure.
14. Institutional, developer and white-label infrastructure
Platforms can sell services to businesses and public institutions as well as retail traders. Examples include institutional trading and custody, over-the-counter (OTC) services, account structures, developer tools, Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) integrations and white-label systems that let regulated firms offer services under their own customer-facing brand. Coinbase reported more than 270 CaaS clients and 150 government agencies served in its FY2025 results. Binance’s year-end summary describes OTC and account services, tokenized funds used as off-exchange collateral, and white-label infrastructure for regulated firms. These offerings target different buyers and should not be confused with consumer products. Sources: Coinbase’s FY2025 release and Binance’s year-end summary.
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What these changes say about exchange business models
Adding products can give an exchange more ways to earn revenue and keep customers using the same platform for trading, payments, custody or other services. Coinbase said 12 of its products each generated more than $100 million in annualized revenue during 2025; its criterion was a qualifying quarter’s annualized net revenue, not necessarily $100 million actually earned by each product over the full year. The company also reported $2.8 billion in subscription and services revenue for 2025 and $5.2 trillion in total trading volume. Coinbase changed its trading-volume definition in Q4 2025 to include its share of routed off-platform spot trades and recast prior periods, so the volume figure should be read with that methodology in mind. These are company-reported figures, not independent industry estimates. Coinbase’s February 12, 2026 release provides the figures and definitions.
Binance reported $34 trillion in platform trading volume during 2025 and separately cited more than $145 trillion in aggregate trading volume across products over a longer stated period. Those are distinct measures and should not be combined. Binance also reported $1.2 billion in rewards distributed through Binance Earn product lines during 2025; that amount describes rewards distributed, not an assurance of future returns. The company’s January 2026 summary is Spanish-language and cautions that translations may differ from the English original.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong called the strategy “The Everything Exchange is working,” while CFO Alesia Haas said the company had reached 12 products with more than $100 million in annualized revenue. These are management’s descriptions of Coinbase’s strategy and reported performance, not independent verdicts on whether the model is succeeding across the industry. The release attributes both statements.
How to compare an exchange’s expanded services
A broad feature list does not tell you whether a particular product is available, suitable or comparable to one offered by another provider. Check the product itself, rather than assuming that two similarly named features have the same legal or financial structure.
Quick Recap
- Jurisdiction and eligibility: Confirm your country, customer type and account tier qualify. Coinbase’s staking availability is jurisdiction-dependent; Binance’s cited regulatory example concerns a particular ADGM framework, not a global authorization.
- What you actually hold or owe: Distinguish a spot asset from a derivative, prediction contract, tokenized claim, loan balance or payment balance. They do not provide interchangeable exposures.
- Custody and counterparties: Identify who controls private keys, holds collateral, issues a stablecoin, operates a protocol or owes repayment.
- Total cost and liquidity: Compare trading fees and spreads, derivative funding, subscription charges, withdrawal and network fees, and the liquidity available for entering or leaving a position. The cited company releases do not provide a consistent fee table across providers, so a fair price comparison requires the relevant current terms.
- Access to funds and downside: Review leverage and liquidation terms, staking lockups and slashing, lending conditions, smart-contract exposure and redemption restrictions.
- Who the service is for: Retail features, institutional products and developer infrastructure serve different customers; their presence on the same platform does not make them comparable consumer benefits.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
