Coinbase opens Abu Dhabi hub for tokenized stocks

On Aug. 11, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market granted Coinbase permission to arrange and custody tokenized securities and to issue blockchain-backed certificates representing shares such as Apple.

The FSRA issued a Financial Services Permission allowing Coinbase to arrange investment deals and provide custody services for tokenized securities. Coinbase formed an ADGM special purpose vehicle, Coinbase Onchain SPV Ltd., and filed a prospectus in early August for Apple CB Certificates that represent beneficial interests in Apple common stock.

Under the ADGM structure, the securities are regulated financial instruments that are recorded on a blockchain. The underlying shares are held in trust. Verified token holders can receive economic rights tied to those shares, including dividends, and may obtain voting rights if those rights are included in an offering’s prospectus. Transfers and on-chain ownership records will be subject to sanctions screening, and regulators can require freezing or seizure of assets at the wallet level.

Eligible investors outside the United States will be able to access these tokenized securities through digital wallets rather than traditional brokerage accounts. Offerings will be limited to approved jurisdictions. Coinbase described potential benefits such as faster settlement, support for fractional ownership and the ability to trade around the clock, while noting that outcomes depend on market liquidity and uptake.

The ADGM license positions Abu Dhabi as Coinbase’s base for international tokenization and on-chain capital-markets work. Coinbase is also expanding a separate hub in Dubai focused on global derivatives. ADGM has maintained a virtual asset regulatory framework since 2018 aimed at attracting institutional blockchain activity under regulatory supervision.

Coinbase’s regional activity includes Project Diamond, which enabled institutions to issue and trade digital debt instruments on Base, and a July tokenization with Mubadala Capital that placed roughly $75 million of private-market assets on-chain.

Observers will monitor whether Coinbase files similar prospectuses for other publicly traded stocks and whether secondary markets develop sufficient liquidity for regular trading and cross-border settlement.