Coinbase has launched tokenized stocks on its Base layer-2, letting eligible non‑US users hold fractional, self‑custodied claims on real Apple and Nvidia shares. What happened - Coinbase rolled out tokenized shares on Base Monday, starting with fractionalized Apple and Nvidia. - Eligible users outside the United States can now: hold the tokens in a self‑custody wallet, trade them on Aerodrome, or post them as collateral on Aave. - AERO, the Aerodrome token, jumped more than 13% on the announcement. How it works and why it matters - Each token represents an actual share held by Alpaca, a regulated broker and custodian. Holders have a direct claim on the underlying equity—not merely exposure to a derivative—so these are true tokenized shares. - Coinbase built the system on a B20 token standard designed to handle dividends and stock splits without changing token balances. That avoids breaking open lending positions or liquidity pools when issuers pay out or split shares. - By putting real equity into self‑custody and DeFi rails, Coinbase is merging traditional ownership with on‑chain composability—enabling trading, lending, and DeFi use cases for equities. Regulatory and competitive context - This is the second recent Base launch that excludes US users: earlier in the week Coinbase added perpetual futures via Hyperliquid—also off limits to users in the US, UK and Canada. - Robinhood’s layer‑2 launched last month with tokenized stocks among its first offerings and is available in 120+ countries—but not in the US either. - Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev has publicly urged US policymakers to clarify rules, warning it would be odd if the world built the future of ownership around American assets while Americans were shut out. - Meanwhile, the SEC’s tokenized‑stock exemption remains delayed, and the agency’s Regulation Crypto Assets proposal largely targets token fundraising rather than equity tokenization. What’s next - Coinbase says more Coinbase‑issued stocks and other real‑world assets will be added to Base in the coming weeks. The infrastructure is live and shipping—what’s missing is regulatory clarity. - The key question now: will US regulators move fast enough to keep domestic investors in the loop before offshore offerings become the global default? (From Morning Minute by Tyler Warner; analysis and opinions are the author’s.) Read more AI-generated news on: undefined/news