Coinbase Gets Abu Dhabi Approval to Launch Global Hub for…

Coinbase has received a financial services licence from Abu Dhabi Global Market's regulator, clearing the way for the crypto exchange to launch an international hub for tokenized securities. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority granted Coinbase a Financial Services Permission covering the arrangement of investment deals and custody for tokenized securities. Coinbase said the approval forms the foundation of its international tokenization strategy and marks a major step toward linking conventional capital markets with blockchain infrastructure.

Under the Abu Dhabi framework, securities issued through the hub will be fully backed by underlying shares and supervised by the FSRA. Verified token holders will receive shareholder rights, including dividends and, subject to restrictions, voting rights. Instead of requiring a traditional brokerage account and correspondent banking relationship, investors will eventually be able to hold the securities through compatible blockchain wallets.

Coinbase has used Apple shares as an early demonstration, issuing what it describes as its first tokenized-security certificate representing Apple stock. The structure is designed to go beyond synthetic or wrapped stock products that merely offer price exposure, by creating regulated digital securities backed by actual underlying shares. The company says the securities will function as regulated financial instruments while also acting as blockchain-native assets, giving holders legal protections alongside wallet portability and potential interoperability with decentralized finance.

The company estimates that roughly 4 billion people globally lack meaningful access to capital markets and argues that tokenization can lower geographic and operational barriers to investing. Regulatory controls will remain in place: every transfer will be subject to sanctions screening, and assets can be frozen or seized at the wallet level when legally required.

Abu Dhabi becomes Coinbase's second major UAE hub, complementing its existing derivatives business in Dubai. The initiative builds on Project Diamond, Coinbase's institutional platform for issuing and managing digitally native assets. It also comes as NYSE, DTCC and other traditional market infrastructure players explore blockchain-based settlement. Coinbase is approaching the opportunity from the opposite direction, extending crypto infrastructure such as wallets, custody and onchain transferability into the traditional securities market.

Global equities represent more than $100 trillion in assets, and tokenization could offer faster settlement, fractional ownership and programmatic interaction with other onchain assets. Liquidity, blockchain interoperability and regulatory clarity remain open challenges, but the Abu Dhabi licence gives Coinbase a regulated jurisdiction, custody infrastructure and legally backed securities operating within a single framework.