Coinbase (COIN) is doubling down on crypto utility. The exchange just announced its first-ever branded credit card in partnership with American Express, offering up to 4% cashback in Bitcoin. But here’s the catch: it’s only available to paying subscribers.
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The “Coinbase One Card” will roll out this fall, tied directly to Coinbase One—the company’s monthly subscription service. This move blends rewards with membership, giving users who pay $29.99 per month access to BTC-back on purchases, higher staking rewards, and more transaction credits across its Base network. A new lower-tier “Basic” plan will also launch at $4.99/month.
Will Stredwick of Amex’s global network services summed it up at Coinbase’s State of Crypto Summit: the partnership offers “an excellent mix of what customers are looking for right now.”
Why This Isn’t Just About Credit Cards
Coinbase isn’t trying to become a bank. It’s trying to build a subscription empire. Trading remains a big chunk of revenue ($1.26B in Q1), but the real bet is on services. Coinbase One, Base, staking, stablecoins, and custody together brought in $698.1 million last quarter—and analysts like William Blair’s Andrew Jeffrey say this is what long-term investors should care about.
The card isn’t just a perk. It’s an anchor. More subs = more recurring revenue. More recurring revenue = less exposure to the volatility of trading fees. It’s a moat in a market known for chaos.
Coinbase Pushes into U.S. Futures with Strategic Timing
Coinbase isn’t just rolling out a credit card. It’s laying groundwork for U.S. access to perpetual futures — a high-volume trading product that’s been offshore-only until now.
Talks with the CFTC are already underway. If approved, this could add a stable, institutional-grade revenue stream to Coinbase’s business model. And pairing that with a Bitcoin rewards card? It’s a calculated move to lock users in across both retail and pro trading lanes.
Will it Work?
Crypto credit cards have a shaky history. Abra’s Amex card was scrapped. Gemini’s card still exists but with low traction. Venmo’s “Cash Back to Crypto” is more of a toy than a habit-changing tool.
But Coinbase is betting that a high-trust partner like Amex and direct Bitcoin rewards tied to a growing subscription ecosystem can break the trend. If they’re right, this could become crypto’s first sticky consumer financial product.
And in a regulatory environment starting to favor the industry, that stickiness could be the difference between another flash-in-the-pan feature and a genuine flywheel for user growth.
Is Coinbase a Buy or Sell?
Wall Street is cautiously optimistic. According to 23 analysts tracked by TipRanks in the last 3 months, Coinbase earns a Moderate Buy consensus. 12 analysts rate it Buy, while 11 say Hold. Notably, there are zero Sell ratings.
The average COIN price target is $263, implying about 9% upside from current levels.
