Coinbase ADGM becomes a global tokenization hub under FSRA oversight, starting with tokenized securities backed by real-world assets.
Author: Akshay
11th August 2026 – Coinbase has made Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) its international tokenization hub after securing a new license from the emirate’s financial regulator.
High Signal Summary For A Quick Glance
Ross
@402Signal
@coinbase Coinbase giving wallets access to regulated, tokenized securities is worth watching from the agent side too. If x402 gives agents a way to pay, tokenized RWAs give them assets they can potentially hold, exchange or use as collateral. The machine economy probably won’t stop at
Coinbase has established Abu Dhabi (ADGM) as our international tokenization hub. Our newly acquired FSRA license means that we can now bring global securities to anyone with a wallet. The next frontier of global finance is onchain, and we're building it from the UAE. https://t.co/nwPvHrWJYw
11:50 AM·Aug 11, 2026
Shellshock
@Shellshock_OG
@coinbase Global securities to anyone with a wallet, and mine's got nothing but shell dust in it. Still waiting on my onchain upgrade 🐢
Coinbase has established Abu Dhabi (ADGM) as our international tokenization hub. Our newly acquired FSRA license means that we can now bring global securities to anyone with a wallet. The next frontier of global finance is onchain, and we're building it from the UAE. https://t.co/nwPvHrWJYw
11:24 AM·Aug 11, 2026
Narra
@narra_vip
@coinbase Crypto spent years trying to enter traditional finance. Now traditional finance is coming onchain.
Coinbase has established Abu Dhabi (ADGM) as our international tokenization hub. Our newly acquired FSRA license means that we can now bring global securities to anyone with a wallet. The next frontier of global finance is onchain, and we're building it from the UAE. https://t.co/nwPvHrWJYw
10:08 AM·Aug 11, 2026
High attention and emotional sentiment detected.
The company announced the move on Tuesday. It said its newly acquired FSRA license now lets it bring global securities to anyone with a wallet. So the Coinbase ADGM tokenization hub becomes the base for issuing digital securities backed by real shares.
The permission comes from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), the independent regulator inside ADGM. More specifically, it is a Financial Services Permission, often called an FSRA license.
According to Coinbase and contemporaneous coverage by CoinDesk, the license covers two regulated activities. First, it allows Coinbase to arrange deals in investments. Second, it allows the firm to provide custody for tokenized securities.
Together, those two permissions form the regulatory base. As a result, Coinbase can now issue and register digital securities under ADGM and FSRA oversight.
Timeline: Coinbase’s progression from early ADGM regulatory discussions and Project Diamond experimentation to establishing Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) as its international tokenization hub for digital securities.
Initially, Coinbase enters discussions with the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) about expanding its regulated international operations into the United Arab Emirates. This establishes the foundation for the company’s later Abu Dhabi tokenization strategy.
Subsequently, Coinbase issues, distributes, and matures its first Project Diamond digital debt instrument on Base. The USDC-denominated short-term discount note serves as a technical demonstration for the FSRA within the emerging ADGM regulatory framework.
Shortly afterward, Coinbase Asset Management publicly launches Project Diamond, an institutional platform designed to issue and trade digitally native debt instruments on Base. The project receives in-principle approval from the FSRA and enters the ADGM RegLab, initially serving eligible institutional users outside the United States.
Meanwhile, Project Diamond continues operating under its FSRA Financial Services Permission. The platform adds infrastructure integrations, including Chainlink, and conducts additional tokenization experiments. For example, a tokenized energy-transition asset auction takes place in December 2025.
At the same time, Binance becomes the first major global crypto exchange to receive a full suite of ADGM FSRA licenses spanning exchange, clearing, custody, and broker-dealer activities. Regulated operations begin on January 5, 2026. As a result, the development demonstrates the viability of a multi-entity regulatory structure in Abu Dhabi for large digital-asset platforms.
Next, Coinbase incorporates Coinbase Onchain SPV Ltd in ADGM under company number 37941. The entity is established specifically to issue digital securities, creating a dedicated corporate vehicle for Coinbase’s next-stage tokenization strategy.
Following the incorporation, the Tokenisation Services Agreement between Coinbase Onchain SPV Ltd and Onchain Marketplace Ltd (OML) becomes effective. OML serves as the tokenization entity and operates as a Central Securities Depositary, providing the infrastructure needed for regulated digital securities.
In parallel, Mubadala Capital, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign investment arm, tokenizes a private-markets fund across multiple blockchains, including Base. Coinbase takes direct balance-sheet exposure. This provides a major institutional example of the tokenization infrastructure developing around Coinbase’s ecosystem.
By early August, Onchain Marketplace Ltd is confirmed as holding FSRA authorization for Arranging Deals in Investments and Providing Custody, with custody restricted to its Central Securities Depositary role. In addition, the FSRA approves the prospectus for Apple CB Certificates, issued by Coinbase Onchain SPV Ltd and representing financial instruments linked to Apple shares.
Finally, Coinbase publicly announces Abu Dhabi’s ADGM as its international tokenization hub. The company highlights its newly acquired FSRA permission covering the arrangement and custody of tokenized securities. As a result, Coinbase says it can work toward bringing global securities on-chain to eligible users outside the United States.
Going forward, the regulatory and operational structure is in place, but Coinbase has not announced a firm launch date for the Apple CB Certificates or broader tokenized-equity trading. However, the next expected milestone is commercial issuance and distribution of digital securities backed by underlying shares, followed by additional assets and potential secondary-market functionality.
ADGM is an international financial free zone in Abu Dhabi. It runs on a common-law system based on English legal principles, separate from mainland UAE civil law.
That structure matters here. In addition, because ADGM uses its own Financial Services and Markets Regulations, the tokens sit inside a clear legal wrapper. At the same time, Coinbase frames them in three ways: they are securities under ADGM law, blockchain-native tokens, and DeFi-composable assets.
Brett Tejpaul, co-CEO of Coinbase Institutional, described the gap the firm says it is filling. “No major financial center has yet built a framework that treats tokenized equities simultaneously as securities, blockchain-native tokens, and DeFi-composable assets,” he said in comments attributed by CoinDesk.
Coinbase ADGM tokenization compared with major tokenized-securities offerings as of 11 August 2026
Meanwhile, one product is already moving through the system. Coinbase Onchain SPV Ltd, incorporated in ADGM on 17 June 2026, issued a prospectus for “Apple CB Certificates.”
Those certificates represent financial instruments over Apple Inc. common stock, ticker AAPL. The FSRA approved the prospectus as Listing Authority on 4 August 2026, according to the published prospectus.
The tokenisation entity is Onchain Marketplace Ltd. Meanwhile, the FSRA authorised it to arrange deals and provide custody, with the permission restricted to operating a central securities depositary. In addition, its listed directors include Jordan Fish, a Coinbase VP of product, and John D’Agostino.
Coinbase leaned on one line in its announcement. It said the license means it can bring global securities to anyone with a wallet. Still, the fine print tells a more gated story.
Tokenized equities are available only in eligible jurisdictions outside the United States. However, that legal note sits directly in the Coinbase thread. In addition, U.S. Persons are excluded under Regulation S.
Access also runs through compliance. Holders must clear KYC, anti-money-laundering, and sanctions checks before they vest. After vesting, they can receive dividends and voting rights, subject to the prospectus terms.
The tokens are not fully free either. Transfers are screened continuously, and balances can be frozen at the wallet level. In short, this looks like permissioned DeFi rather than an open market.
The model follows a familiar structure. An ADGM special-purpose vehicle holds the underlying shares with a custodian. Then it issues certificates that represent a pro-rata interest in those shares.
Legal title lives in an off-chain register kept by the FSRA-authorised depositary. Meanwhile, the on-chain tokens evidence holdings and enable transfers. Smart contracts handle minting, burning, freezes, and the compliance restrictions.
So “anyone with a wallet” mostly describes the secondary market. Primary issuance still goes to authorised participants first. Full rights arrive only after the vesting checks clear.
Notably, no public contract addresses or block-explorer pages for the live tokens surfaced as of 11 August 2026. The prospectus names no chain, though Base featured in earlier Coinbase work in the UAE. For now, the on-chain side stays unconfirmed.
This announcement sits inside a longer UAE push. Coinbase ran Project Diamond, its institutional debt platform, under ADGM since 2023. The country now hosts a dual hub, with tokenization in ADGM and derivatives work tied to Dubai.
Rivals are circling the same market. Ondo, Securitize, Backed, and tokenized funds from BlackRock and Franklin Templeton all chase real-world assets on-chain.
Early reaction on X ran mostly bullish. Retail accounts amplified the “anyone with a wallet” framing, while some analysts flagged execution risk. A few also noted the gap between that promise and the KYC gating in the prospectus.
However, plenty remains unknown. The exact license grant date, the full list of securities beyond Apple, the broader launch timeline, and the end-user fee model are all unclear. Furthermore, the complete list of eligible jurisdictions is still missing.
COIN traded near $148 to $150 on 10 August, and no clear market reaction had landed before U.S. trading opened. Meanwhile, the next FSRA filings and any live contract deployments could provide the first real signals from the Coinbase ADGM tokenization hub. This article is informational and not financial advice.
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