Coinbase's 2025 Shopping Cart: Strategic Transformation from Exchange to Financial Operating System

The strategy behind Coinbase's recent frequent acquisitions is not only expansion, but also transformation from a cryptocurrency exchange to a "financial operating system" that serves the entire chain world, building a vertically integrated, secure and compliant ecological empire. (Synopsis: Is Coinbase overhyped?) Bybit Research Report: Regulatory tailwinds may drive continued revenue growth) (Background added: Cathie Wood: Bitcoin holders may transfer BTC to Coinbase mortgage to buy a house) While reading the news recently, a news caught my eye: Coinbase announced the acquisition of token management platform Liquifi. At first, I thought it was just an ordinary industrial dynamic, but when I think about it, it feels a little familiar...... I quickly reviewed it, and sure enough! This is Coinbase's fourth major acquisition since entering 2025. An acquisition may only be a business supplement, but there must be a deeper logic behind the successive "buying, buying, buying". This piqued my great curiosity. So, I decided to take a moment to take a look back at Coinbase's shopping list this year and give us a glimpse of the real strategic intent behind this series of acquisitions. A spoiler: Coinbase is no longer content to be just a leading cryptocurrency exchange, but to build a "financial operating system" that serves the entire on-chain world. RIGHT TIME AND PLACE: WHY IS COINBASE "BUYING, BUYING, BUYING" IN 2025? Behind any big move, it is inseparable from "the right time and place". Coinbase's acquisition offensive is taking place in an excellent macro environment. In the crypto industry in 2025, an unprecedented wave of M&A (M&A) is unfolding. According to the industry analysis report, the number of M&A transactions and the total amount of disclosed transaction consideration in the first quarter of this year both hit a record high, and the consolidation rate of the entire industry is even expected to exceed the peak of the bull market in 2021. In addition to the series of actions of Coinbase to be introduced next, the entire industry is surging with huge waves of capital, including some sensational big money, which together confirm this boom: In February 2025, Stripe acquired the Bridge Network for $1.1 billion, significantly enhancing its stablecoin infrastructure and improving the speed and cost advantages of cross-border payments. In June 2025, Stripe acquired Tiervy, a crypto wallet aggregator, further strengthening its capabilities in crypto wallets and digital identity. In May 2025, Robinhood acquired Canadian crypto company WonderFi for approximately $179 million in all-cash, gaining control of two major exchanges, Bitbuy and Coinsquare, greatly expanding its compliance market in Canada. On June 2, 2025, Robinhood acquired European veteran crypto exchange Bitstamp for $200 million in cash, acquiring more than 50 international licenses and a large number of institutional clients, accelerating its global expansion. On May 1, 2025, Kraken acquired NinjaTrader, a US retail futures trading platform, for $1.5 billion, becoming an important player in the US futures and crypto derivatives market, promoting the deep integration of traditional finance and crypto assets. What does this mean? It shows that the industry is maturing. Even fintech giants like Stripe and Revolut have entered the market, making mainstream investors feel as if "playing crypto" is less dangerous. In such an era of "big fish eating small fish", giants like Coinbase have decisively acquired not only to expand, but also to survive. More interestingly, we are also seeing a new trend. In the past, it was traditional financial companies that bought crypto companies, and now in turn, crypto giants like Kraken and Coinbase have begun to acquire traditional financial services companies. This marks that crypto giants have gone from disruptors to integrators. EXCLUSIVE: WHAT'S IN COINBASE'S 2025 LUXURY SHOPPING CART? Okay, after the background, let's unpack and see what Coinbase has bought this year. Each acquisition is like a piece of a puzzle that together forms its grand blueprint. Target Company Core Functions Main Strategic Objectives Deribit Crypto Options and Futures Trading Dominating the Institutional Derivatives Market Liquifi token lifecycle management Provide full-end developer services Spindl on-chain advertising and attribution analysis Build a growth engine for the base ecosystem Iron Fish ( team ) Privacy protection technology Complete the core functions of the Base ecosystem SPINDL: Installing a "growth rocket" for a focused BASE ecosystem Imagine a new DEX project promoted by 10 KOLs, each of whom publishes promotional content on social media. When a user sees a KOL's tweet, clicks the link and completes a transaction on the DEX, the project party needs to issue a token reward to the corresponding KOL according to the agreement. But the question arises: how can the project team accurately identify which KOL promoted the deal? Traditional Web2 marketing can easily track user behavior paths through technical means such as cookies, but in the decentralized environment of Web3, there is a data gap that is difficult to bridge between off-chain social media interactions and actual transactions on-chain. The value of Spindl lies in solving this core pain point. As an on-chain advertising and attribution analytics platform, it can be understood as the native Google Analytics of Web3. Spindl helps developers accurately identify user acquisition channels, measure the true ROI of marketing campaigns (e.g., airdrops, KOL promotions), and create accurate target audiences based on users' on-chain behavioral data. In January 2025, Coinbase acquired Spindl in order to create an exclusive competitive advantage for its own Layer 2 network "Base". In the fierce L2 competition, it is no longer enough to rely on the advantages of high throughput and low gas technology. By integrating Spindl, Coinbase provides developers on Base with a top-of-the-line "viral growth" toolkit that entices them to prioritize building applications on Base over competing blockchains. This forms a powerful positive flywheel: better apps attract more users, and more users motivate more developers to join, accelerating the expansion of Base's entire ecosystem. IRON FISH Team: Carving "Privacy" into BASE's DNA In March 2025, Coinbase acquired the core team of Iron Fish, a privacy blockchain project. This is a "talent acquisition" (Acqui-hire), Coinbase acquired the Iron Fish development team, not its company or token. The Iron Fish team is a top expert in privacy-preserving technology.