Coinbase is moving to bridge traditional equities and blockchain-based assets with a fully collateralized tokenized stock product. Brian Armstrong said Monday that tokenized stocks issued via Coinbase must be backed by real financial securities, not synthetic derivatives or debt, to ensure legitimacy and global liquidity.
The new “Coinbase Tokenized Stocks” offering is built under the B20 standard on the Base network through an offshore entity, with custody and safeguarding handled by Alpaca Securities. Armstrong said the assets are fully backed and redeemable for underlying shares, include direct redemption rights and dividend reinvestment, and will eventually offer voting rights. “We’ve set the standard with Coinbase Tokenized Stocks. No synthetics or debt instruments, real fully-backed securities, redeemable for the underlying shares, with dividends integrated, and voting rights coming soon,” he posted on X.
The initiative targets global investors and institutions seeking exposure to the more than $70 trillion U.S. stock market. For regulatory reasons, the product temporarily excludes U.S. users, but Coinbase reports daily volumes above $100 million on decentralized platforms. Future expansion may include tokenized Tesla and SpaceX equities, while the next phase will depend on regulatory responses to delegated custody and cross-border distribution.
The announcement arrives amid cautious but optimistic crypto market sentiment. By offering real, fully backed securities without synthetics, Coinbase is positioning itself to attract both global investors and institutions, potentially setting a precedent for how traditional equities are tokenized and traded on blockchain rails.
