Coinbase Will Become First Crypto Company to Join S&P 500

14-05-2025
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Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase will soon be indirectly added to millions of portfolios when it is included in the S&P 500 index on May 19.

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) will join the Standard and Poor's 500 (S&P 500) on May 19, becoming the first and currently only cryptocurrency company to be included in the index.

The crypto exchange will replace Discover Financial Services (DFS), which was recently acquired by Capital One Financial Corp (COF), S&P Global said on May 12.

The S&P 500 is a stock market index that tracks the performance of the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the United States, representing a broad measure of the U.S. stock market.

Coinbase’s inclusion in the S&P 500 would increase demand for the company’s stock, as index funds and exchange-traded funds that track the S&P 500 must buy COIN shares to reflect the index.

The S&P 500 tracks a total market capitalization of $49.8 trillion as of March 31. It is a market capitalization-weighted index, giving more weight to larger companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia. The bottom 400 companies, where Coinbase is likely to be, typically carry a weight of 0.01% to 0.2% of the overall index.

Google Finance data shows COIN shares immediately jumped 8.8% to $225.40 in after-hours trading following the announcement. The company also ended the trading day on March 12 up 4%, giving it a market capitalization of $52.8 billion.

Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas said the inclusion marks a “significant milestone” for Coinbase and the crypto industry at large.

“Joining this prestigious index reflects how far Coinbase and the industry have come and is a signal of where the world is headed.”

The cryptocurrency exchange joins Tesla (TSLA) and Block Inc. (SQ) as major companies that currently hold Bitcoin in an index fund.

Bitcoin stacking firm Strategy (MSTR) was also considered an S&P 500 candidate last year. However, companies seeking to join must have been profitable in the most recent calendar year and most recent quarter to qualify.

Strategy posted a net loss of $4.2 billion in the first quarter of 2025 on May 1, suggesting the company won’t be included anytime soon.

To be included in the S&P 500, companies must be traded on a major U.S. stock exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, generate at least half of their revenue in the United States, and have a market capitalization of more than $18 billion. The strategy meets these other requirements.