Coinbase to become the first crypto firm to join the S&P 500

Crypto exchange Coinbase Global (COIN) is set to join the Standard and Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) on May 19, becoming the first and currently only crypto firm to make it into 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 500 of the largest, publicly traded companies in the US, representing a broad measure of the overall US stock market.

Coinbase’s inclusion in the S&P 500 should increase demand for its stock because index funds and exchange-traded funds that track the S&P 500 must buy COIN shares to mirror the index.

The S&P 500 tracked an aggregate market cap of $49.8 trillion as of March 31. It is a market-cap-weighted index, giving more weight to larger firms such as Microsoft, Apple, and Nvidia. The bottom 400 companies, where Coinbase will likely be, are typically weighted between 0.01% and 0.2% of the overall index.

COIN shares immediately rose 8.8% to $225.4 in after-hours trading following the announcement, Google Finance data shows. The company also finished the March 12 trading day up 4%, bringing its market cap to $52.8 billion.

Coinbase chief financial officer Alesia Haas said the inclusion marked a “major milestone” for Coinbase and the broader crypto industry.

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

Related: $45 million stolen from Coinbase users in the last week — ZachXBT

The crypto exchange joins Tesla (TSLA) and Block Inc. (SQ) as large corporate Bitcoin holders currently in the index fund.

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

Strategy posted a net loss of $4.2 billion for the first quarter of 2025 on May 1, suggesting it won’t be included any time soon.

Inclusion into the S&P 500 also requires companies to be trading on a large US stock exchange, such as the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, generating at least half of their revenues in the US, and having a market cap above $18 billion. Strategy satisfies these other requirements.

Magazine: Crypto wanted to overthrow banks, now it’s becoming them in stablecoin fight