Coinbase (COIN) will become the first cryptocurrency company in the S&P 500 Index, which tracks the performance of the 500 largest public companies in the U.S. The exchange will replace Discover Financial Services in the index, according to CNBC.
First Crypto Company in the S&P 500
The inclusion will take effect before the market opens on May 19. Following the news, COIN shares rose 8% in after-hours trading, reaching $229.9.
Coinbase became a public company on April 14, 2021, via a direct listing on Nasdaq. At the time of its debut, the company had a market capitalization of $85 billion, but at the time of its S&P inclusion, it is valued at $53 billion. The share price reached an all-time high of $343 in December, but has declined since then.
Previously, Oppenheimer analyst Owen Lau predicted that Coinbase could be added to the index after five consecutive months of growth. He maintained a “buy” rating and raised the target price to $388.
To qualify for the S&P 500, a company must report a profit in the most recent quarter and show positive earnings over the past four quarters. Coinbase posted an adjusted net income of $527 million for Q1 2025. Total revenue came in at $2 billion, down from $2.3 billion in the previous quarter. Trading volume dropped 10%, and transaction revenue fell 19% to $1.2 billion.
Regulatory Landscape and Competitors
Experts believe Coinbase’s success is partly due to a more favorable regulatory environment under President Donald Trump’s administration. This shift opens the door for other players — Bullish, Gemini, and Kraken are also exploring IPOs in the current climate.
In early May, Coinbase announced the acquisition of crypto derivatives exchange Deribit for $2.9 billion. The deal is expected to significantly expand its presence in the derivatives market, which far surpasses spot trading in volume — an area where Coinbase already leads in the U.S.
Some S&P 500 constituents, such as Block, PayPal, and Visa, also operate in the crypto space, but they are not dedicated cryptocurrency firms. MicroStrategy (MSTR), despite holding a significant Bitcoin reserve, is not in the index due to a smaller market cap. Coinbase, by contrast, will become the first pure-play crypto company to be part of the U.S.’s key stock market benchmark.
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