Coinbase plans to tokenize its COIN shares and make them available for trading on its Base layer-2 network. Base creator Jesse Pollak disclosed the details on X while responding to a call from an investor asking the publicly traded exchange to make the move.
The investor CoinbaseDuck on X complained that trading COIN using traditional rails is difficult, as transactions take a lot of time to process. This can cost traders many opportunities, especially for those rebalancing their portfolios.
They said:
“It is challenging sometimes because $COIN is on traditional rail you need wait for deposit/check to clear into brokerage. And then they can buy more $COIN or sell $COIN to allocate to other crypto asset when crypto asset price is depressed.”
According to CoinbaseDuck, two weeks is a long time in the crypto space because a token can go up or down 100% within that period.
In his response, Pollak admitted that having COIN on Base would be huge for the network and is being considered.
He said:
“it is something we are looking into in the new year.”
His statement has sparked excitement in the crypto community, with many noting that stocks on-chain would be a massive improvement, particularly given that the traditional process can be quite complicated. As one user noted, buying COIN for a crypto investor requires using four platforms– Brokerage, Bank, Coinbase App, and Wallet.
Tokenizing COIN depends on regulatory clarity
Pollak added that the exchange has no concrete plan yet and is still in the exploratory stage for tokenizing COIN. The implementation will depend on regulatory clarity.
He said:
“There are no concrete plans right now. we are in an exploratory phase and working to understand what needs to be unlocked from a regulatory perspective to bring assets like $COIN to @base in a safe, compliant, future looking way.”
Pollak’s disclaimer highlights how important regulatory clarity will be in determining the future of several crypto companies and products in the coming years.
Interestingly, real-world asset (RWA) protocols have already made tokenized COIN available for non-US users. Pollak mentioned BackedFi as the place for non-US residents to buy COIN on-chain, while people in the comments mentioned other apps enabling on-chain COIN trading.
Pollak says over $1 trillion in assets is coming to Base
Pollak remains bullish about the Base network and believes it will see accelerated growth this year. He says over $1 trillion in assets is coming to Base, which will happen faster than expected. While the developer did not specify how this would happen, he mentioned earlier how important regulatory clarity is in enabling everyone to have on-chain access.
He said:
“We need regulatory clarity and improvements that embrace on-chain as an open platform to unlock this for everyone.”
The Base network remains the fastest-growing L2, with a total value locked (TVL) of $15.27 billion, second only to Arbitrum, even though it has existed for less than 18 months. It also boasts a massive transaction count, with its daily user operations per second (UOPS) currently at 143.71.
Meanwhile, COIN was up 5% as of the close of the market on January 3, 2025, continuing a positive trend of 9% this year. The exchange has been one of the biggest corporate beneficiaries of Trump’s win, rising as much as $300 in the aftermath of the election.
Although it trades at $270, many expect its stock to rise further once Trump is sworn in. There are signs that the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) under Trump would not adopt the regulation-by-enforcement strategy that the Gary Gensler-led SEC under President Joe Biden relied on heavily.
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