Coinbase to Offer Tokenized Stocks Globally

Coinbase to Offer Tokenized Stocks to International Customers

Coinbase announced Tuesday its plans to launch tokenized stock trading for customers outside the United States in August.

These tokenized stocks will be backed 1:1 by their underlying assets, representing “true equity ownership,” according to the company. This includes dividend payouts and full shareholder rights, in addition to the “programmatic utility of the onchain economy.”

The new product aims to blend traditional equities with the flexibility of cryptocurrency. Traders will be able to access stock markets outside of regular trading hours. Furthermore, tokenized stocks can be lent out to earn yields, used as collateral for loans, or transferred between users.

“Our product will give all the benefits of true ownership, with all the benefits of tokenized assets,” said Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong. “This is a great step towards unlocking global access to US markets.”

In parallel, Coinbase revealed it will be introducing options trading for both cryptocurrencies and stocks directly on its exchange. Options are derivative contracts that provide the holder with the “option” to sell at a specified strike price, distinguishing them from futures contracts, which are binding.

The company is also set to introduce perpetual futures for real-world assets (RWAs), offering targeted exposure to equity indices such as AI, China, defense, and technology.

Coinbase’s recently launched pre-IPO perpetuals provide early access to high-interest companies before their public market debut. The offering initially includes SpaceX and is expected to expand to include Anthropic and OpenAI.

Pre-IPO perpetual futures have seen a significant surge in popularity in recent months, particularly leading up to SpaceX’s IPO last week. Data from CryptoQuant indicates that trading volumes across major exchanges have jumped 1,100% since early May, reaching approximately $12 billion, with Binance holding the dominant market share.

Pre-IPO perpetual volume has surged from $2 million in March to $12 billion as of June. Binance alone now controls approximately 83% of this market.

Tokenized stocks currently represent only 5% of the total onchain value of tokenized RWAs, according to RWA.xyz, amounting to around $1.5 billion. Ondo leads the market for tokenized stocks by market share, holding 59%, followed by xStocks with 32%.

In separate remarks made to Fox News on Tuesday, Brian Armstrong alleged that major banks are attempting to undermine the President’s crypto agenda.

“They’re [banks] are trying to protect their profit margins, taking money out of the pockets of hardworking Americans,” Armstrong stated.

Banks are reportedly lobbying against cryptocurrency legislation, particularly concerning stablecoin yields, which significantly surpass the interest rates offered by traditional banks. This opposition stems from concerns about a potential deposit flight, as savers may seek higher returns on their capital rather than leaving it to depreciate in conventional bank accounts.