Coinbase has begun offering tokenized U.S. stocks on its Base network, giving eligible investors outside the United States onchain access to shares in several major American companies. The tokenized securities are backed 1:1 by the underlying stocks and are designed for continuous trading, including within decentralized finance applications.
How the tokenized stocks work
The new product wraps real U.S. equities into blockchain-based tokens that track the price of the underlying shares. Each token represents one share, with the backing held to keep the value aligned. Trading can happen around the clock, unlike traditional exchange hours, and the tokens can plug directly into DeFi protocols for lending, borrowing, or other uses.
Chainlink is supplying the market data for the tokenized stocks, feeding price information onto Base. That keeps the onchain price in step with the underlying market, a core requirement for a product that mirrors real equities.
Who can use it
Eligible investors outside the United States can now buy the tokenized shares through Coinbase. The company did not specify which companies are included beyond saying the offering covers several major U.S. firms. The launch targets retail and institutional users who want exposure to U.S. equities without a traditional brokerage account.
Because the tokens run on Base, Coinbase's own Layer 2 network built on Ethereum, transactions benefit from lower fees and faster settlement than the main Ethereum chain.
The DeFi angle
The continuous trading feature is a break from the standard 9-to-5 model of U.S. exchanges. Tokenized shares can be moved, sold, or used as collateral in DeFi apps at any hour, which is a major selling point for overseas users who don't operate on U.S. market hours.
Chainlink's role in the setup is limited to data, not custody or trade execution. The company behind the product hasn't said whether more stocks will be added or which markets are first in line.
The launch puts Coinbase in the growing tokenized securities space, where real-world assets are converted to blockchain tokens. Other firms have experimented with tokenized Treasuries or private credit, but consumer-facing tokenized equities are still rare.
What's not clear is how regulators in the home countries of eligible users will view the tokens. Coinbase has not yet stated which jurisdictions the product is available in, nor how it will handle corporate actions like dividends or voting rights on the tokenized shares. The company says the tokens are only for non-US users, but no list of banned countries has been released.
