Coinbase, a leading cryptocurrency exchange, has executed an internal wallet migration to maintain industry-leading security standards. The migration, which involves moving assets between existing and new wallets under Coinbase's control, commenced on November 22, 2025.
According to Coinbase, users can continue to trade, send, and receive cryptocurrencies as usual during the migration, as the company does not anticipate any downtime for its products. The exchange also stated that customer deposit addresses will remain unaffected.
The wallet migration is a planned operation aimed at enabling Coinbase to uphold the highest security standards in the industry. Migrating wallets periodically is a well-accepted best practice that minimizes long-term exposure of funds. All movements and wallets are traceable on-chain, and no funds are being sold or converted.
This initiative reflects Coinbase's broader commitment to security and regulatory alignment, especially as institutional investors demand higher assurance in asset custody. By prioritizing security through wallet migration, expanding institutional infrastructure via acquisitions, and aligning with regulatory-friendly jurisdictions, the exchange is addressing key pain points for institutional adoption.
The migration announcement aligns with Coinbase's recent expansion of decentralized exchange (DEX) trading capabilities. The company has launched its DEX feature, branded as "DeFi Mullet," in the U.S. and Brazil, allowing users to trade over 10,000 tokens without leaving the Coinbase interface.
Coinbase's strategic initiatives, including the wallet migration and expansion of DeFi services, signal a strategic inflection point. The company's success hinges on maintaining operational transparency and mitigating risks associated with rapid innovation. Coinbase's security-first approach positions it as a key standard-setter for crypto market maturation.
While the wallet migration is primarily focused on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), Coinbase has also been addressing network issues affecting other cryptocurrencies, such as Cardano (ADA), Avalanche (AVAX), Filecoin (FIL), and Solana (SOL). The company has resolved incidents causing delayed sends and receives on these networks and is monitoring the results.
The exchange has also been working on migrating its Web3 Wallet, encouraging users to move their assets to their primary Coinbase balance, Coinbase Wallet, or another self-custody wallet. Support for the Web3 wallet in the Coinbase app is ending as part of an overall upgrade of the on-chain experience.
Coinbase-managed merchants are also migrating to the Onchain Payment Protocol. The process involves updating the wallet by migrating the Commerce wallet to the Coinbase Wallet interface or providing a deposit address for a preferred wallet.
