Coinbase has launched tokenized U.S. stocks natively on Base, bringing shares of companies including Apple, Nvidia and Alphabet into the Layer 2’s DeFi ecosystem. Each token provides direct economic exposure to a corresponding U.S.-listed share and is backed 1:1 by stock held in regulated custody, allowing eligible users to hold and transfer the assets through self-custodial wallets.
The products use Coinbase’s B20 token standard, an extension of ERC-20 designed for tokenized securities. Coinbase’s official tokenization platform says each token represents a beneficial claim on a real share held separately in regulated, bankruptcy-remote custody. The structure connects traditional equity ownership with programmable on-chain infrastructure rather than functioning as an unbacked synthetic price tracker.
Stock Tokens Move Directly Into Base DeFi
Once issued, the tokens can move between compatible wallets and interact with applications across Base. The official Base launch announcement identifies trading, lending, collateral and automated strategies among potential uses. That composability changes how equity-linked assets can be deployed after purchase, allowing them to participate in DeFi rather than remaining confined to a brokerage account.
Centrifuge joined the rollout from day one. In its official announcement, the tokenization platform said it was launching equity products alongside Coinbase’s new stock infrastructure. The integration gives Centrifuge another route for connecting institutional-grade tokenized products with liquidity and financial applications already operating on Base.
Coinbase Tokenized Stocks are now live on @Base.
Centrifuge is one of the first tokenization platforms to launch equity products paired with Coinbase Tokenized Stocks on Base, live from day one.
Only available in eligible geos ex U.S. https://t.co/8gKn0hcUo3 pic.twitter.com/XdMDi2PheC
— Centrifuge (@centrifuge) August 24, 2026
Centrifuge had already established a deeper relationship with Coinbase before the stock launch. In May, Coinbase designated Centrifuge as a Preferred Tokenization Infrastructure platform and made a strategic investment in the company. That existing partnership provides institutional context for Centrifuge’s immediate participation in the new equity-token ecosystem rather than making the integration an isolated deployment.
Regulated Backing Does Not Mean Global Access
The stock tokens are available only to eligible non-U.S. users. Base says the underlying shares are held with Alpaca in a regulated, bankruptcy-remote custody structure supervised under Abu Dhabi Global Market requirements. U.S. investors are excluded from the current offering, making geographic eligibility a fundamental limitation despite the tokens’ permissionless on-chain functionality after issuance.
The launch also separates tokenized ownership from conventional market hours. Supported assets can trade through Base liquidity venues continuously, even when U.S. stock exchanges are closed. Corporate actions such as dividends and stock splits are handled through the B20 framework. That creates a 24/7 market layer around traditional equities without changing the economic dependency on the underlying companies and custodial shares.
For Base, the rollout expands its RWA infrastructure from tokenized funds and stablecoins into individual equities. The next test will be whether 1:1 backing and DeFi composability translate into sustained liquidity and institutional use beyond the initial launch, particularly once trading spreads across a larger catalog of stocks.
