Coinbase is set to become the first cryptocurrency company added to the S&P 500 index.
The addition, effective before trading begins on May 19, follows the anticipated completion of Capital One’s acquisition of Discover Financial Services.
Wall Street brokerage Bernstein estimates Coinbase could face roughly $16 billion of buying pressure as a result of its inclusion in the S&P 500.
Of that total, about $9 billion is expected to come from passive index funds that track the benchmark, while another $7 billion could come from active fund reallocations responding to the index change.
“We estimate that approximately $9 billion of potential Coinbase purchases would be driven by passive ETFs and non-ETF vehicles linked to the S&P 500,” Gautam Chhugani of Bernstein wrote to clients on Tuesday.
For active funds that use the S&P as a reference, a 0.1% allocation could translate into an additional $7 billion in potential purchases, he added.
With a market cap of roughly $52 billion, Coinbase would comprise about 0.1% of the S&P 500’s weighting and roughly 0.7% of the index’s financials sector weighting.
The S&P 500 currently has a total market value of about $52 trillion.
A long road to the mainstream
Coinbase’s path onto the index follows what Bernstein described as a dramatic turnaround after the company was previously involved in a legal dispute with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Coinbase debuted on Nasdaq via a direct listing in April 2021 and now holds roughly 66% of the U.S. crypto exchange market by assets—over $400 billion—and about 10 million active users.
As the saying goes…
“First they ignore you.
Then they laugh at you.
Then they fight you.
Then they add you to the S&P 500.”…or something like that.
— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) May 12, 2025
“This is a big deal,” said Coinbase President and COO Emilie Choi.
“The S&P 500 is likely the most watched and influential index in the world; it is a cornerstone of 401(k) plans and a magnet for institutional capital.”
CEO Brian Armstrong added: “Crypto will soon be in everyone’s 401(k),” expressing hope that inclusion in the index could ultimately lead to a similar pathway for COIN50 weightings.
Market reaction to Coinbase’s inclusion
Coinbase shares rose about 16% in early trading on Thursday after the announcement, most recently trading at $241.60.
However, the shares remain down roughly 5% year-to-date.
The listing comes shortly after Coinbase announced a $2.9 billion deal to acquire Deribit, the cryptocurrency derivatives exchange.
The acquisition includes $700 million in cash and 11 million class A shares of Coinbase.