Coinbase Investigates Tokenized Equity for U.S. Clients on Ethereum Layer-2 Platform Community Base

Coinbase is investigating the possibility of offering tokenized shares of its inventory, COIN, to U.S. customers through Base, its Ethereum layer-2 network.

Jesse Pollak, a developer at Base, disclosed this information on January 3 via a post on the X platform, indicating that the project is currently in an exploratory phase.

Tokenized COIN shares are already available to non-U.S. customers through platforms such as Backed, a protocol for tokenized real-world assets (RWA).

Coinbase to Introduce COIN to Base

Pollak suggested that integrating COIN into Base could align with Coinbase’s vision of a future where “every asset in the world will be on Base.”

However, he stressed that there are no concrete plans at this time, pointing out the need for regulatory clarity in the U.S.

“We require regulatory clarity and enhancements that include on-chain as an open platform to enable this for everyone,” Pollak remarked.

The global market for tokenized RWAs, including securities, is estimated to be $30 trillion, according to Colin Butler, Polygon’s global head of institutional capital.

Tokenized assets have been gaining momentum as a link between traditional finance and blockchain technology.

In November, COIN shares experienced a surge of over 20%, surpassing the $300 threshold for the first time since 2021.

This increase followed Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election, which analysts believe may alleviate regulatory pressures on the cryptocurrency sector.

Morningstar equities analyst Michale Miller noted that a Trump administration is anticipated to adopt a more crypto-friendly approach, particularly benefiting Coinbase’s staking operations.

and to clarify even further: there are no concrete plans right now. we’re 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-oriented manner.
still day one.

— jesse.base.eth (@jessepollak) January 3, 2025

Nonetheless, regulatory ambiguity continues to be a significant obstacle. Under President Joe Biden, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated over 100 enforcement actions against crypto firms for alleged violations of securities laws.

While some advancements have been made toward establishing a broader legislative framework, Citi’s December research note emphasized that U.S. regulations still lag behind those in other major jurisdictions.

Tokenization Market Could Reach $16T by 2030

McKinsey & Company recently reported that tokenized financial assets have had a “slow start” but are still projected to grow into a $2 trillion market by 2030.

Meanwhile, a report from the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) and Boston Consulting Group estimates that the global value of tokenized illiquid assets will reach $16 trillion by 2030.

More conservative projections from Citigroup suggest that $4 trillion to $5 trillion worth of tokenized digital securities could be issued by 2030.

Recognizing this potential, leading companies are making significant strides in the tokenization sector.

Goldman Sachs, for instance, plans to introduce three new tokenization products later this year, driven by increasing consumer interest.

Some protocols have played a crucial role in fostering this growth, particularly in terms of active users.

Digital carbon market platforms like Toucan and KlimaDAO, along with the real estate tokenization protocol Propy, have seen considerable user growth.

It’s important to note that both public and private blockchains are experiencing the integration of various assets.

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