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Coinbase Launches Tokenized Stocks on Base | Jesse Pollak

August 25, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Coinbase has launched tokenized stocks on its Base blockchain, starting with Nvidia, Meta, Apple, and Google. Jesse Pollak, founder and leader of Base, explains that every tokenized stock represents a direct one-to-one claim on the underlying equity, structured in collaboration with Abu Dhabi and Alpaca. The tokens are freely permissionless and publicly available on-chain, though restricted for US users at the interface layer. This is not a speculative experiment—it is a regulated product that pays dividends, carries governance rights, and plugs directly into Base's existing DeFi ecosystem.

How the legal and technical structure works

The tokenized stocks are rebasing tokens. When a dividend is paid, the token balance increases automatically through a built-in multiplier, rather than sending separate cash payouts. This design choice prioritizes composability with DeFi protocols. If dividends were paid out as separate tokens, they would create complexity when the stock is used as collateral in lending markets. The rebasing model lets builders integrate dividends seamlessly into borrowing, lending, and yield-generating applications.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:10) **Announcement: Coinbase Tokenized Stocks on Base** - Jesse Pollak explains the vision: bringing the world's largest asset class (stocks) on-chain to make them globally available, 24/7, and programmable.
  • 2 (01:13) **Legal Structure & Trust Model** - The tokenized stocks are a one-to-one representation of real shares, with a direct claim for the holder.
  • 3 (02:45) **Dividends & Governance Nuances** - Explains how dividend payments and governance rights are handled for the tokenized stocks.
  • 4 (05:17) **Access: Permissionless but Geofenced** - Clarifies that the tokens are fully permissionless and publicly available on Base, with no KYC required to hold them.
  • 5 (06:35) **Initial Stock Selection** - The first four tokenized stocks are Nvidia, Meta, Apple, and Google, chosen based on retail demand.
  • 6 (10:12) **Leveraging Existing DeFi Ecosystem** - Base's robust DeFi ecosystem, which grew through the bear market, is being used to accelerate the tokenized stock economy.
  • 7 (12:47) **Competitive Landscape & Growth Strategy** - Acknowledges the fragmented tokenized stock market and outlines a strategy beyond raw incentives.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

The stock market is coming onchain. Jesse Pollak joins David to unpack Coinbase Tokenized Stocks, a new push to bring one-to-one equities onto Base with 24/7 trading, dividends, governance rights and permissionless onchain composability. They explore what happens when stocks plug directly into DeFi, why borrowing and lending may matter more than trading itself, how neobanks could evolve into global brokerages, and Jesse’s bigger vision for Base as the financial backend for stocks, payments, credit and local currencies around the world.

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TIMESTAMPS

0:00 Coinbase Brings Tokenized Stocks to Base
5:17 Permissionless Stocks and the First Assets Going Live
10:11 Plugging Stocks Into Base DeFi
17:52 From Tokenized Stocks to Neo Brokerages
23:32 Crypto as a Global Financial System
27:20 What Builders Can Create With Onchain Stocks
32:04 Bringing Every Currency Onchain
42:47 Jesse’s Role at Base and the Everything Exchange
49:50 Tokenized Stocks Beyond Base

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RESOURCES

Jesse Pollak
https://x.com/jessepollak

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