Coinbase Considers COIN Tokenization on Base

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, is considering offering tokenized shares of its COIN stock to domestic users through its Ethereum Layer-2 network, Base.

This move could combine traditional stocks with blockchain technology, putting Coinbase ahead in financial innovation.

Regulatory Clarity Key to Coinbase’s Tokenized Shares Rollout in the US

Jesse Pollak, Base’s lead developer, revealed that Coinbase is still in the early stages of exploring this initiative. He acknowledged that regulatory compliance is the primary obstacle.

Pollak emphasized that Coinbase is committed to addressing these challenges to ensure a secure and lawful rollout of tokenized assets.

“We are in an exploratory phase and working to understand what needs to be unlocked from a regulatory perspective to bring assets like $COIN to Base in a safe, compliant, future-looking way,” Pollak stated.

Currently, tokenized COIN shares are available only to international users through decentralized platforms. Pollak stated that expanding this access within the US hinges on clearer regulatory guidelines. Moreover, such advancements could open the door for blockchain-based financial systems to a broader audience.

Meanwhile, Pollak hinted that the tokenized COIN stocks could be the first of many such products on the Base network. Over the past year, the Ethereum Layer-2 network quickly gained traction and became a significant player in the industry, with over $3.84 billion in total value locked (TVL).

Pollak expressed confidence in the platform’s potential to reach $1 trillion in managed assets. According to him, this would further cement Base’s role as a hub for next-generation financial solutions.

“We are going to bring $1 trillion assets to Base and it’s going to happen faster than anyone expects,” Pollak added.

Meanwhile, Coinbase move toward tokenization is not surprising, considering the sector’s rapid growth over the past year. Industry leaders, including Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley, believe tokenization could reshape equity markets by creating a more inclusive capital market system.

Horsley highlighted that tokenization could enable smaller businesses to access equity markets without the massive scale traditionally required for public offerings.

“Today, there are around 4,600 companies in the US that are able to access the public equity markets. The NAICs estimates there are over 200,000 companies in the US doing over $10M in revenue. Not all companies want to be public of course; but many simply can’t because it requires immense scale. Enter tokenization, a new democratized capital market,” Horsley stated.

Indeed, Coinbase is the first publicly traded crypto exchange in the US, with a market capitalization of around $70 billion. Austin Campbell, an adjunct professor at Columbia Business School, recently praised the firm for its pivotal role in resisting what he called excessive regulatory overreach against the crypto industry in the US.