Key highlights:
- Abu Dhabi’s FSRA has permitted Coinbase to provide custody for tokenized securities
- The exchange plans to offer digital securities registered and issued in ADGM
- Coinbase is also rolling out over 170 derivatives contracts to UK investors
Major crypto exchange Coinbase is setting up its international tokenization hub in Abu Dhabi. This will give the exchange a regulatory base to bring traditional securities onto blockchain outside of the US.
The company said in a press release on Tuesday that it had received a Financial Services Permission from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market. This license allows it to arrange investment deals and provide custody for tokenized securities.
Coinbase has established Abu Dhabi (ADGM) as our international tokenization hub.
Our newly acquired FSRA license means that we can now bring global securities to anyone with a wallet.
The next frontier of global finance is onchain, and we’re building it from the UAE. pic.twitter.com/nwPvHrWJYw
— Coinbase 🛡️ (@coinbase) August 11, 2026
Coinbase builds on existing ties in the UAE
The exchange plans to offer digital securities backed by underlying shares with this new license now secured. These tokens will be registered and issued within Abu Dhabi Global Market under the regulator’s guidance.
This comes amid the broader trend in traditional finance, where asset managers and banks have started putting funds, bonds, private credit and stocks on blockchain networks.
Experts have highlighted that tokenized securities are much easier to transfer at any time. They also said it could be settled in near real time, and could then be used as collateral in onchain markets.
Abu Dhabi has been the testing ground for this system. The Global Market introduced a regulatory framework for virtual assets back in 2018. Since then, that market has seen a steady influx of crypto and tokenization firms looking for a regulated base in the region.
Coinbase’s presence in the United Arab Emirates did not start with this week’s approval. In 2023, its asset management arm launched Project Diamond. This is a platform that would let institutional investors issue and trade digital debt instruments using Base.
Just last month, Mubadala Capital, the asset management arm of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, tokenized a private-market investment strategy through UAE’s KAIO, using blockchain networks like Base. The exchange itself took a stake in that fund as part of the arrangement.
Brett Tejpaul, co-CEO of Coinbase Institutional, said no financial center has a system that sees tokenized equities as securities.
“ADGM issued one of the world’s first regulatory frameworks for virtual assets in 2018. No major financial center has yet built a framework that treats tokenized equities simultaneously as securities, blockchain-native tokens, and DeFi-composable assets.”
The Abu Dhabi operation will now operate in conjunction with the company’s derivatives business in Dubai.
Also expanding derivatives access in the UK
In another global development, the exchange said it would start offering derivatives products to eligible professional investors in the United Kingdom. The launch would start progressively over the next few weeks.
This will be for only customers who meet the platform’s eligibility requirements and qualify as professional clients under UK rules.
The investors would be able to trade more than 170 perpetual contracts. It covers crypto, commodities, equities and foreign exchange, with 24/7 market access and leverage of up to 50 times their position size.
Perpetual contracts have no expiration date and can be traded continuously, unlike dated futures. The platform will also offer dated futures with fixed settlement dates and leverage of up to 20 times. It will come along with crypto options that include calls, puts, single-leg and multi-leg strategies.
Source:: Coinbase Sets Up Global Tokenization Hub in Abu Dhabi After Securing License