ByCoinGape
For years, crypto exchanges were largely seen as platforms to buy and sell digital assets. Today, that definition is expanding. The industry’s largest players are building products that extend well beyond trading. From stock trading, stablecoin payments, tokenized equities to AI infrastructure and global financial services, crypto exchanges are expanding beyond just crypto.
Coinbase is one of the companies driving that shift. Speaking to Block of Fame, Roshan Prabhakar, Head of Product for India & EMEA International Payments at Coinbase, explains why exchanges are evolving into broader financial platforms, where stablecoins fit into India’s payments landscape, and how AI could reshape the way users interact with crypto.
Coinbase has steadily expanded its product suite over the past year, building on CEO Brian’s everything exchange vision. Recently, the exchange launched US stock trading in UK. For Prabhakar, the role of a crypto exchange is changing as users expect access to a wider range of financial services through a single platform.
“A few years ago, most people thought of a crypto exchange simply as a place to buy and sell digital assets. Today, that definition is changing. Users increasingly expect a platform that helps them participate in the broader onchain economy, whether that’s making global payments, accessing tokenized assets, or using financial products that are faster and more accessible.”
That evolution, he says, isn’t about adding more complexity. It’s about removing it.
“From a product perspective, our job is to abstract away the complexity. Most users don’t wake up wanting to use blockchain; they want a product that solves a problem. That means building experiences that are simple, trusted, and work reliably in the background.”
As the technology matures, he believes blockchain itself will become less visible to end users.
“Over the next few years, I think users will expect crypto products to feel much more like the internet does today, seamless, mobile-first, and integrated into everyday financial experiences. The technology should become increasingly invisible, while the value it delivers becomes much more visible.”
Stablecoins have emerged as one of crypto’s fastest-growing use cases, particularly for moving money across borders. While they’re often compared with domestic payment networks, Prabhakar believes they’re solving a different problem altogether.
“Stablecoins are one of the most exciting product opportunities because they solve a very practical problem, moving money globally in a faster and more efficient way.”
He is quick to point out that India’s digital payments ecosystem already has a strong domestic foundation.
“One point I always make is that stablecoins are not competing with systems like UPI. UPI is one of the best domestic payment systems in the world, and it has fundamentally changed how India moves money.”
Instead, he sees stablecoins complementing existing payment infrastructure by making international transfers faster and more efficient.
“Where stablecoins add value is in cross-border use cases, where traditional infrastructure can still be slow, fragmented, and expensive. In many ways, stablecoins become an invisible infrastructure layer that enables global money movement, while domestic payment systems continue to do what they do exceptionally well.”
For users, he says, the technology shouldn’t be the focus.
“From a product standpoint, success isn’t about users thinking they’re using a stablecoin. Success is when sending money globally feels as easy as making payments domestically. That’s where we see significant long-term opportunities for both consumers and businesses.”
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India remains one of the world’s largest crypto markets, and remains Coinbase’s next targeted market. But user expectations have evolved alongside the country’s digital ecosystem. According to Prabhakar, building for India starts with getting the fundamentals right.
“India is one of the most sophisticated digital markets in the world, so users naturally expect products that are fast, intuitive, and localized.”
That means investing in local infrastructure before expanding the product offering.
“Our first priority has been getting the fundamentals right, building local infrastructure, enabling direct INR deposits and withdrawals, creating a seamless onboarding experience, and ensuring we meet a high bar for security and compliance. Those foundations are essential before you build anything else.”
Over time, Coinbase plans to bring more of its global product roadmap to Indian users while continuing to work alongside regulators.
“Going forward, our goal is to bring Coinbase’s ‘everything exchange’ vision to India. That means Coinbase users can access multiple asset classes in the same trusted Coinbase app. Globally the firm is exploring products like expanded equities and derivatives offerings. In India, as in every geography we operate in, trust and compliance will continue to be a top priority. We will continue to engage with regulators so that Indians can be confident that as we launch more products we are doing it in a compliant and regulated manner.”
Artificial intelligence is beginning to take critical space in crypto and web3 with agentic commerce growing up rapidly. Prabhakar believes its biggest contribution of agentic commerce to crypto will be making products easier to use rather than more complicated.
“AI has the potential to remove a lot of the complexity that still exists in financial products today. Whether it’s helping users understand what they’re doing, explaining transactions in plain language or guiding them through onboarding, AI can make crypto much more approachable.”
He also sees AI creating demand for an entirely new category of payment infrastructure.
“I also see significant potential for agentic payments. AI agents require infrastructure that is reliable, secure and compliant, and we see blockchain technology as that solution. At Coinbase we are seeing incredible traction in this space. 90%+ of agentic stablecoin transaction volume ran on Base, and 97%+ of onchain agentic transactions used Coinbase’s x402 protocol in Q2 2026.”
Thus, for Coinbase, the next chapter isn’t simply about expanding the list of products on its platform. It’s about building services that make crypto easier to use, while allowing blockchain to operate quietly in the background.
As more financial activity moves on-chain, Prabhakar believes the platforms that succeed will be the ones that focus less on the technology itself and more on the problems it solves.
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