Recently, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong and CFO Alesia Haas unveiled a forward-thinking initiative: tokenizing the company’s stock and enabling on-chain trading of U.S. equities via the Base blockchain. If successfully implemented, this vision could inject unprecedented vitality into the U.S. stock market and position it as the third major pillar of Real-World Assets (RWA), following stablecoins (e.g., USDT and USDC) and tokenized treasuries (e.g., Buidl). Even more striking, the scale of tokenized U.S. stocks could surpass the total market value of tokenized treasuries in the near term, fundamentally rewriting the rules of global capital markets.
The Dual Revolutionary Value of On-Chain U.S. Stocks
The allure of tokenizing U.S. stocks lies in its two transformative breakthroughs. First, it dismantles the spatial and temporal constraints of traditional stock markets. Currently, U.S. equity trading is confined to the operating hours of Nasdaq and the NYSE, bound by regional regulations and cumbersome entry barriers. Blockchain technology, however, promises a 7×24, borderless trading ecosystem where participants from any corner of the globe can buy and sell U.S. stocks in real time, driving market liquidity to exponential heights.
Second, tokenization endows U.S. stocks with unparalleled “programmability.” On-chain stocks can serve as collateral in decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocols or be seamlessly integrated into index funds, ETFs, or other derivative products. This flexibility significantly enriches portfolio diversification while offering both institutional and retail investors a broader array of innovative tools. For listed companies, tokenization opens direct access to a global pool of capital, attracting more buyers. For investors, the removal of geographic barriers simplifies the allocation of high-quality U.S. equity assets.
From Vision to Reality: Past Attempts and New Opportunities
The concept of bringing U.S. stocks on-chain is not entirely new. As early as 2020, Coinbase explored listing itself via security tokens, though regulatory hurdles forced a pause. During the last DeFi boom, Terra’s Mirror Protocol and Ethereum-based Synthetix introduced synthetic U.S. stock assets, but technical limitations and compliance challenges prevented widespread adoption. Now, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) showing a softening stance toward blockchain innovation, a rare policy window has emerged.
Coinbase’s Base blockchain, an Ethereum Layer 2 solution renowned for its low costs and high efficiency, is ideally suited to support high-frequency trading scenarios. Should this plan succeed, tokenized U.S. stocks could not only validate blockchain’s disruptive potential in traditional finance but also spark a ripple effect, potentially bringing other asset classes—such as European equities or commodities—onto the chain.
Who Stands to Gain?
The push for tokenized U.S. stocks promises substantial benefits for several blockchain projects. Polymath’s Polymesh blockchain, for instance, is already making waves, with its token POLYX poised to be a key beneficiary of this trend. Polymesh previously facilitated BlackRock’s issuance of $500 million in digital bonds, underscoring its strengths in compliance and technical capability. Additionally, Ondo Finance, a leader in RWA solutions, and Chainlink, a provider of oracle services, are well-positioned to contribute to the infrastructure underpinning tokenized U.S. stocks. These projects’ value lies not only in their technical contributions but also in their role as bridges between traditional finance and blockchain.
The Broader Implications of Tokenized U.S. Stocks
From a broader perspective, tokenizing U.S. stocks transcends mere technical experimentation—it represents a profound reshaping of the global financial system. By gradually shifting the “centralized fortress” of traditional stock markets onto decentralized networks, it challenges the dominance of existing financial intermediaries while offering investors fairer, more efficient opportunities to participate. If Coinbase’s plan progresses smoothly, the coming years could witness the emergence of a new capital market paradigm: one where asset flows are unbound by borders and investment opportunities are no longer monopolized by a handful of institutions.