Coinbase receives ADGM license to arrange and custody tokenized securities, using Abu Dhabi as its base for onchain equities outside the U.S. Brett Tejpaul: no framework yet treats tokenized assets as securities, blockchain tokens and DeFi collateral.
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Coinbase (COIN) received Financial Services Permission from the Abu Dhabi Global Market's Financial Services Regulatory Authority, giving the exchange a licensed base to arrange investment deals and custody tokenized securities outside the U.S.
The permission lets Coinbase offer digital securities backed by underlying shares, registered and issued within ADGM under FSRA oversight. The move positions Abu Dhabi as Coinbase's hub for tokenization – the process of putting traditional securities like stocks and bonds on blockchain rails.
Abu Dhabi has courted crypto firms since 2018, when ADGM introduced a virtual-asset framework. Several tokenization firms already operate there. The city's regulator offers a structure that treats tokenized equities as both securities and blockchain-native assets.
Coinbase had already planted a flag in the UAE. In 2023, its asset management arm started Project Diamond on Base, the company's Ethereum layer-2 network, to let institutions issue and trade digital debt. Last month, Mubadala Capital tokenized a private-market strategy through infrastructure provider KAIO on Base, with Coinbase taking exposure to that fund.
The Abu Dhabi operation runs alongside Coinbase's derivatives business in Dubai, the company said, giving it two UAE bases for expanding international businesses outside the U.S.
Tokenization has drawn global asset managers and banks, who are putting bonds, private credit and stocks on blockchain rails to enable round-the-clock transfers and near-instant settlement. Coinbase's latest license gives it a regulated foothold in that push from a jurisdiction that has actively courted the sector.
The exchange already holds a derivatives license in Dubai, the company said.
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