The road to owning shares of both public and private companies no longer has to go through traditional brokerage desks. Coinbase has just secured a Financial Services Permission from the FSRA regulator of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). This crucial permit legalizes the company to arrange deals and provide custody services for tokenized securities, opening the gateway for investors to hold shares directly in their digital wallets.
This milestone refines the initial step they took a month ago. In June 2026, Coinbase released tokenized shares fully backed 1:1 by underlying shares. Their debut product lineup includes a range of tech giants from SpaceX, Nvidia, Google, Strategy, to Bitmine. The presence of the ADGM license ensures all these securities transactions have a strong legal footing without requiring users to open conventional brokerage accounts.
United Arab Emirates Expansion Map
Coinbase’s growth strategy in the Middle East region separates business focus by jurisdiction. Dubai holds operational control as the global derivatives business hub. On the other hand, Abu Dhabi has officially taken the role of headquarters for all tokenized securities activities and on-chain capital market development.
The trust in Abu Dhabi did not emerge out of nowhere. Coinbase had previously laid the initial foundation in the region through a pilot project called Project Diamond. Operating within the ADGM jurisdiction, the blockchain-based financial instrument platform made its debut by releasing USDC-denominated institutional debt products using the Base network infrastructure.
Co-CEO of Coinbase Institutional Brett Tejpaul highlighted local regulatory readiness as a decisive factor. He mentioned that to date, no major financial hub in the world has successfully designed a regulatory framework on par with the ADGM’s. This legal framework is unique because it is capable of treating tokenized equity simultaneously as three different things: a formal securities instrument, a native blockchain token, and an asset fully compatible with the DeFi ecosystem.
Limits of Transparency on the Blockchain
Although these securities assets offer crypto-like flexibility, their transfer mechanism is not as free as pure coins. Real-world legal compliance still binds the movement of funds within the network. Every transfer of tokenized shares must go through sanctions screening procedures before it can be finalized.
Additionally, the concept of ownership is far from the principle of full decentralization. In line with applicable regulations, the issuing authority holds absolute power to intervene in the assets if suspicious activity is detected. They have the right to detain, freeze, or even confiscate securities assets directly from users’ digital wallets.
With this new permit, competition to capture the Web3 financial market in the region is heating up. BNY is known to have secured custody approval for Bitcoin and Ether assets in ADGM since last May. Previously, Ondo Finance was ahead in releasing US stock tokenization and ETF products back in March. Amidst the intensifying competition, Coinbase management emphasized that acquiring the Abu Dhabi license marks the most important step they have ever achieved toward realizing a much more open global financial system.
Reported from crypto.news.
Also read: What Is DeFi (Decentralized Finance)?
Disclaimer: This article is for informational and educational purposes only, not financial advice. Cryptocurrency assets are highly volatile and carry significant risk. Always do your own research (DYOR) and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
