Coinbase Gets Abu Dhabi License to Build Tokenized Securities Business

What the Abu Dhabi approval covers

According to Coinbase’s announcement published by Abu Dhabi Global Market, the new authorization allows the exchange to arrange investment deals and offer custody services for tokenized securities under FSRA supervision. Under the structure outlined by the company, the securities would be registered and issued in ADGM rather than treated simply as crypto trading products.

Coinbase said each tokenized security will be backed by an underlying share. Eligible verified holders are expected to receive shareholder rights linked to the represented stock, including dividends and voting rights, subject to the terms set out in the relevant prospectus.

The company also said dividend payments would be reinvested automatically. It added that some voting and redemption rights may depend on whether a holder satisfies applicable vesting requirements, meaning not every shareholder function would necessarily be available immediately or on identical terms.

Wallet-based access with compliance controls

Coinbase presented the planned product as different from a conventional stock purchase because eligible investors would not need a standard brokerage account or a correspondent banking relationship to hold the securities. Instead, users would hold them through a compatible blockchain wallet.

At the same time, the company said transfers would remain subject to compliance checks. It stated that transactions would undergo ongoing sanctions screening and that Coinbase would retain the ability to freeze or seize assets at the wallet level when regulations require it.

Coinbase described that setup as a way to embed controls directly into the tokenized-security framework, rather than relying only on checks at the time of purchase, while still aiming to make the assets usable within blockchain-based financial applications.

Open questions around launch and market access

The licensing announcement left several important details unresolved. Coinbase did not identify which shares it plans to tokenize first, which blockchain networks will support the product, or when an initial offering might begin.

It also did not say which countries’ residents will be eligible to buy the securities. For U.S. investors, the Abu Dhabi approval alone does not permit Coinbase to offer ADGM-issued securities in the United States, where any such product would still fall under U.S. securities law and Securities and Exchange Commission oversight.

The planned model builds on earlier comments connected to Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network. In July, Base founder Jesse Pollak said the companies were close to launching equities backed by real underlying shares, distinguishing the idea from stock-linked derivatives that only track prices without conveying ownership.

How the UAE fits into Coinbase’s wider plans

Coinbase said it plans to run its tokenized-securities and onchain capital-markets business from Abu Dhabi, while using Dubai as a base for its international derivatives operations. The company described both as among its most ambitious businesses outside the U.S.

Those activities will sit under separate regulatory regimes. ADGM and the FSRA oversee financial services in Abu Dhabi’s financial free zone, while Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority supervises virtual-asset businesses operating in or from Dubai, except for firms based in the Dubai International Financial Centre.

The move also comes as other institutions expand regulated digital-asset activity in Abu Dhabi. In May, BNY outlined custody plans in ADGM with Finstreet and ADI Foundation, beginning with Bitcoin and Ether and potentially expanding into stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets, subject to final agreements and regulatory approvals.

Next steps and broader backdrop

Coinbase’s immediate next step is to build out the Abu Dhabi platform for issuance, custody, and servicing of tokenized securities, but the timing and initial product lineup remain unannounced. The first concrete milestone will likely be disclosure of the securities to be offered, the networks they will use, and the jurisdictions whose residents can participate.

The broader tokenization push is unfolding alongside regulatory discussions elsewhere. In the U.S., reported talks in June around a possible SEC innovation exemption had not produced a final framework, even as interest in tokenized stocks continued to grow. Competition is also increasing: Dinari launched tokenized versions of all S&P 500 stocks for eligible U.S. investors in August, and Coinbase separately began rolling out access to nearly 4,000 U.S. equities for eligible UK customers on Aug. 6.