Coinbase joins tokenized stock race with onchain shares and dividend payments

Coinbase (COIN) said it plans to introduce tokenized stocks backed one-for-one by underlying U.S. equities, joining the growing competition among crypto firms and traditional financial companies to bring stocks onto blockchain networks.

In a post on X on Tuesday, the exchange said “the first real, 1:1 backed tokenized stocks are coming,” allowing users to own, trade, hold and redeem the securities onchain while automatically receiving dividends.

The announcement comes ahead of a product event scheduled for 3 p.m. ET Tuesday, in which the company, best known as a crypto exchange, is expected to unveil a series of offerings spanning trading and financial services.

“For the first time, these are real 1:1 backed tokenized stocks you can trust,” CEO Brian Armstrong said in a statement. “You own an actual piece of the company onchain.”

Armstrong said the products differ from many existing tokenized stock offerings, which are often structured as derivatives or synthetic exposures rather than direct ownership interests.

“Other current solutions are some form of derivative or IOU — not real ownership,” he said. “Our tokenized stocks will give all the benefits of true ownership (e.g. dividend upside), with all the benefits of tokenized assets.”