Coinbase chooses Abu Dhabi as global hub for tokenized securities

Coinbase has secured regulatory permission in Abu Dhabi to establish an international tokenization hub that will support the issuance and custody of securities backed by underlying shares.

Coinbase said the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market has granted it Financial Services Permission to arrange deals in investments and provide custody services for the planned tokenized securities business. The approval places the U.S. crypto exchange inside ADGM’s regulated financial system as it builds infrastructure for issuing traditional assets on blockchain networks.

The securities registered and issued through the framework will be backed by underlying shares and supervised by the FSRA. Verified holders will receive economic rights tied to the assets, while certain shareholder rights, including voting, depend on vesting conditions attached to the digital securities.

Investors will be able to hold the products in digital wallets without opening a traditional brokerage account or establishing a correspondent banking relationship for transactions involving the securities. Coinbase said transfers will remain subject to sanctions screening, with assets capable of being frozen or seized at the wallet level when required.

“This is the most significant step we have taken yet toward building the infrastructure for a more open, more accessible global financial system,” Coinbase said when announcing the approval on Aug. 11.

Coinbase tokenization hub builds on Project Diamond

Abu Dhabi was already part of Coinbase’s institutional tokenization plans before the latest license. The exchange established Project Diamond as a platform for issuing blockchain-based financial instruments, initially concentrating on digital debt products for institutional users.

Project Diamond received in-principle approval from ADGM regulators before issuing its first debt instrument, a short-term discount note denominated in USDC and issued on Coinbase’s Base blockchain. The platform was initially available to registered institutional investors outside the United States.

Coinbase later expanded the infrastructure supporting the project. In December 2024, crypto.news reported that Project Diamond had integrated Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, giving institutions access to cross-chain connectivity and verifiable data for tokenized assets.

The platform uses Coinbase’s institutional technology stack, including custody services, on-chain wallets and USDC settlement on Base. Peregrine, an ADGM-regulated entity operated by PSG Digital, was named as its flagship user when the Chainlink integration was announced.

Coinbase Institutional co-CEO Brett Tejpaul said ADGM’s decision to introduce a virtual asset regulatory framework in 2018 was an important factor behind the company’s choice of jurisdiction.

“No major financial center has yet built a framework that treats tokenized equities simultaneously as securities, blockchain-native tokens, and DeFi-composable assets,” Tejpaul said.

The latest permission moves Coinbase from institutional debt infrastructure toward a regulated structure capable of supporting tokenized securities backed by shares.

Abu Dhabi has opened regulated routes for tokenized stocks

Coinbase is entering an Abu Dhabi market where other financial and crypto companies have already received permission to offer blockchain-based investment products.

In March, Ondo Finance received approval for tokenized U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds within ADGM. Its digital securities were admitted for trading through a Multilateral Trading Facility regulated by the FSRA.

The products were structured as equity-linked notes and provided exposure to U.S. companies including Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Tesla. Their admission created another regulated route for investors outside the United States to access blockchain-based versions of traditional securities.

Institutional custody infrastructure has developed alongside those products. BNY launched Bitcoin and Ether custody services in ADGM in May through a collaboration with Finstreet Limited and the ADI Foundation, with the bank also planning to support tokenized assets and stablecoins.

BNY had $59.4 trillion in assets under custody and administration when the service was announced, bringing one of the world’s largest traditional custodians into Abu Dhabi’s regulated digital asset sector.

Coinbase itself has already started offering tokenized equities elsewhere. In June, the exchange launched tokenized shares linked to SpaceX, Nvidia, Google, Strategy and Bitmine, with the company saying the products were backed 1:1.

Users could buy, hold, trade and redeem the assets on-chain while receiving economic exposure to dividends associated with the underlying shares. Coinbase presented the rollout as part of its Everything Exchange strategy, which combines crypto with equities, commodities, lending, payments and other financial products.

UAE expansion separates tokenization and derivatives operations

The Abu Dhabi hub forms one part of Coinbase’s expansion across the United Arab Emirates.

Its tokenized securities and on-chain capital markets operations will be centred in Abu Dhabi, while the company is developing its global derivatives business from Dubai. Coinbase has described the two businesses as among its largest international projects outside the United States.

The company had been pursuing an Abu Dhabi regulatory presence for several years. In 2023, Coinbase was in discussions with ADGM’s FSRA about obtaining regulatory permission while expanding its international operations.

Project Diamond subsequently provided the company with its first operational route into regulated blockchain-based financial instruments in the emirate. The latest FSP extends that presence into arranging investment deals and custody connected to tokenized securities.

ADGM Chief Market Development Officer Arvind Ramamurthy said Coinbase’s decision represented an endorsement of the financial centre’s regulatory framework as institutions experiment with blockchain-based capital markets.

“As tokenisation becomes an increasingly important part of capital markets infrastructure, ADGM remains committed to supporting innovation that enhances market access, transparency and investor confidence, while upholding the highest standards of regulatory oversight,” Ramamurthy said.

GCC tokenization could approach $500 billion by 2030

Coinbase is setting up the hub as governments, banks and investment firms across the Gulf put more capital and infrastructure behind tokenization.

Consulting firm Kearney and tokenization infrastructure company Ctrl Alt estimated earlier this year that tokenized real-world assets across the Gulf Cooperation Council could represent close to $500 billion by 2030.

Their estimate covers several asset classes, with private markets, investment funds and bank deposits expected to account for a large share of potential tokenized assets. Commodities alone could represent about $14 billion of the regional market by 2030, according to the research.

Abu Dhabi-based tokenization company KAIO has also attracted institutional funding for the sector. In April, the company raised $8 million from investors including Tether, Systemic Ventures, Further Ventures and Nomura-backed Laser Digital.

KAIO operates under Abu Dhabi’s regulatory framework and has worked on bringing traditional investment products from asset managers including BlackRock, Brevan Howard and Hamilton Lane onto public blockchains through tokenized feeder funds. At the time of the funding announcement, the platform managed about $100 million in on-chain assets and had processed more than $500 million in transactions.

ADGM’s digital asset rules predate much of the current institutional activity. The financial centre introduced one of the first regulatory frameworks for virtual assets in 2018, creating rules for companies providing regulated crypto and blockchain services from Abu Dhabi.

Coinbase said its new permission gives the company the regulatory basis to arrange investment transactions and provide custody for its planned tokenized securities, while transfers involving the products will remain subject to ongoing sanctions screening.