Coinbase has started trading tokenized stocks on its Base network, beginning with shares of Apple, Nvidia, Meta, and Alphabet. The stocks are issued under a new framework registered in Abu Dhabi, putting the exchange in a crowded field of firms trying to bring traditional equities onto blockchain rails.
First four listings
The first batch covers some of the most heavily traded tech names in the market. Users on Base can now hold and trade tokenized versions of Apple, Nvidia, Meta, and Alphabet without leaving the crypto ecosystem.
Coinbase said the tokenized equities are issued under its Abu Dhabi framework, a structure that gives the exchange a regulated base for offering these products. It's a step that lets Coinbase route around some of the legal friction that has kept tokenized stocks mostly out of the US market.
The tokenized stock race
Coinbase isn't the only one trying to put equities on-chain. Several platforms have been working on similar products for years, with mixed results. What's different here is the size of the exchange and the fact that it's using its own layer-2 network, Base, to host the market.
The move gives Coinbase a direct way to sell stock exposure to a crypto-native user base, while also giving Base a use case that goes beyond the usual DeFi and memecoin activity.
How it works
Under the Abu Dhabi framework, Coinbase issues a token that tracks the price of the underlying stock. The token is backed by the actual equity, held through a custody arrangement that Coinbase has set up in the emirate. This isn't a derivative — it's a representation of ownership, similar to what other tokenized stock platforms have done in Europe and Asia.
Users trade these tokens on Base just like any other asset, with the exchange handling settlement on-chain. That removes some of the traditional market infrastructure, but also raises questions about how shareholders' rights and dividends flow through.
For now, the service only covers those four stocks. There's no word yet on when Coinbase will add more.
The Abu Dhabi structure suggests Coinbase is serious about scaling this beyond a pilot. The exchange has been building out its international operations, and the tokenized stock product could be a way to attract institutional money looking for on-chain equities exposure.
The unanswered question is how the SEC and other US regulators will react. Tokenized stocks have existed for years in small corners of crypto, but a major exchange pushing them on a mainstream network is a different thing entirely. So far, Coinbase has not said anything about bringing this product to US users.
What happens next depends on whether the market takes to these four listings, and whether Abu Dhabi proves to be a stable legal home for the product. That's the near-term test.
