Taking the first leap into the Standard and Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) index is an important achievement, particularly when a crypto company makes its debut entry. On May 19, Coinbase, the largest crypto exchange in the US, will turn the tide for crypto companies by breaking into the S&P 500. S&P Global reported that the crypto company will replace the digital banking company, Discover Financial Services.
Coinbase gained much applause from the crypto community following the news. Emilie Choi, President and COO at Coinbase, shared her excitement, praising the company’s customers, employees, retail, and institutional investors.
Worth noting, the Coinbase team ironically wrote the famous saying denoting its transformation: “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.”
Now, setting aside this benchmark move and the excitement surrounding it, it is vital to discuss what the S&P 500 is and how Coinbase would probably draw its future after joining the market index.
What is the S&P 500?
The acronym S&P 500 stands for Standard & Poor’s 500. It is a stock market index managed by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It monitors the stock performance of the 500 largest publicly traded companies listed on the US stock exchanges. As of now, Microsoft, Apple, NVIDIA, and Amazon are the leading companies on the index.
Coinbase will join the S&P 500: Why is this big news?
As explained, Coinbase’s upcoming inclusion in the S&P 500 will make it the first crypto company to step into the index. Essentially, this move led to an 11% surge in the Coinbase shares. Once it enters the index, there would be a potential increase in acceptance of crypto-related business in the traditional finance industry, and it would attract institutional investors. In short, this would perhaps enhance the connection between digital finance and traditional finance.
In a broader range, this legitimate inclusion will spark other crypto companies to achieve this milestone, thereby welcoming more investments and participation in the crypto landscape. The inclusion also insinuates increased credibility and visibility for the platform. There is a high chance that mutual funds, ETFs, and index funds that are designed to buy shares from each of the 500 companies and track the index will automatically buy Coinbase shares. This fund flow can pave the way for high demand and liquidity.
All these reasons are important for the future of Coinbase and the crypto market, despite the volatile and uncertain nature of the industry.
What are the criteria for joining the S&P 500?
A company has to pass certain financial, structural, and trading criteria to be eligible for inclusion in the S&P 500. That said, a company holding a market cap of $8.2 billion, 50% public float, active liquidity, positive earnings in the most recent and four consecutive quarters, and domiciled in the US, can enter the S&P index.
Coinbase has a market cap of $52.78 billion and holds around 253.88 million shares. Nearly 81.75% of these shares are allocated for public trading. Moreover, the crypto exchange has met the required positive earnings in the quarters.
However, the crypto company informed that it had experienced a disappointing quarter in 2025 due to economic uncertainty and tariffs. Despite the weak quarter, the platform gained a net income of over $65.5 million in the first quarter.
Earlier in March, the S&P 500 became home to four entrants: DoorDash, TKO Group Holdings, Williams-Sonoma, and Expand Energy Corp.
