Overview
- Coinbase announced the tokenized shares on Tuesday as part of a broader System Update that also added stock and crypto options, pre‑IPO perpetual futures and an SEC‑registered AI advisor.
- Each token is advertised as backed one‑for‑one by an underlying U.S. share, able to be traded, redeemed onchain and set to receive automatic dividend payments.
- The company says the tokenized stocks will roll out first to eligible non‑U.S. jurisdictions and some reports place that launch in August, while U.S. customers will wait until regulators provide a clear framework.
- The SEC is reported to be preparing an 'innovation exemption' to allow limited testing of tokenized equities inside the United States, but details on custody, redemption rights and investor protections remain unresolved.
- Market participants and incumbents are racing to build tokenized‑stock infrastructure because onchain shares can enable near‑instant settlement, 24/7 trading and new uses like collateralized lending, though past failures where partners failed to secure underlying shares have raised scrutiny of custody and backing standards.