Coinbase makes Abu Dhabi its tokenized-securities hub

Coinbase has chosen Abu Dhabi as its international tokenization hub, operating out of the Abu Dhabi Global Market under a license to arrange investment deals and hold digital assets, Fortune reports.

The license clears the way for tokenized securities that are backed by real shares and issued under ADGM's regulatory framework. Investors hold those assets in digital wallets; no brokerage account or correspondent banking relationship stands between them and the token.

"This is the most significant step we have taken yet toward building the infrastructure for a more open, more accessible global financial system," Coinbase said in a statement announcing the decision, as reported by Fortune.

Abu Dhabi has been writing tokenization rules for years. ADGM issued one of the world's first regulatory frameworks for virtual assets in 2018. Coinbase's new hub builds on a larger UAE footprint: the exchange already runs Project Diamond in Abu Dhabi for digital debt aimed at institutional investors, and its derivatives business sits in Dubai.

The structure is simple on paper. One ADGM-licensed entity arranges the deals and securely holds the digital assets; the investor's wallet holds the token. There is no brokerage account or correspondent banking relationship in the middle, which is the detail Coinbase chose to emphasize.

The Gulf is already moving in this direction. Sovereign wealth funds have been investing in tokenization, and Kearney projects close to $500 billion of GCC assets will be represented on blockchain by 2030, led by private markets, funds, and bank deposits.

Whether issuers of real shares will accept a crypto exchange as their securities venue remains unconfirmed. The choice of Abu Dhabi suggests the regulatory appetite for tokenization is strongest where one regulator can grant the full bundle: dealmaking, custody, and a rulebook. For wealth managers, the detail to watch is the wallet. If the brokerage account really drops out of the holding chain, the economics of custody and settlement get reworked, and Abu Dhabi has just given Coinbase a place to test that proposition.