Author: Fairy, ChainCatcher
Editor: TB, ChainCatcher
Original Title: Bit, Stock, and Chain Trident, Unveiling the Ultimate Ambition Behind Coinbase's "Empire" Expansion
Coinbase has been quite active recently.
On one side, it is applying to the US SEC to launch stock tokenization trading; on the other side, it is collaborating with Shopify to allow consumers in 34 countries to shop using USDC on the Base chain; meanwhile, it also supports all Base ecosystem assets through DEX.
Bit, stock, payment, contract... a comprehensive layout, completed in a closed loop on its own chain Base. Coinbase's ambition is becoming completely clear.
"On-Chain Brokerage": Coinbase's Super Entry Dream
According to Reuters, Coinbase is seeking SEC approval to provide users with stock tokenization trading services. Once approved, users will be able to trade tokenized assets representing US stocks through blockchain technology. Coinbase will directly compete with traditional retail brokers like Robinhood and Charles Schwab, and is also expected to open up its new on-chain securities business landscape.
Behind this move is a rapidly rising market: since the beginning of this year, the overall market value of the RWA field has grown from $15.7 billion in January to the current $23.9 billion, an increase of over 50% in just a few months.
Image: rwa.xyz
Coinbase is not the only player seeing this trend. Last month, its main competitor Kraken announced the launch of "xStocks" stock token products outside the US, initially covering over 50 stocks and ETFs including Apple, Tesla, and NVIDIA. The product is deployed on the Solana blockchain and supports 24/7 trading.
However, for Coinbase to implement this model in the US, it still needs to overcome high regulatory barriers: it must obtain a "no-objection letter" or exemption from the SEC. According to current regulations, all institutions providing securities trading services must hold a broker's license. Fortunately, Coinbase acquired Keystone Capital, which holds such a license, as early as 2018, and although the subsidiary has not been actually activated, theoretically Coinbase is qualified to provide similar services.
Additionally, Coinbase's Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal has explicitly stated that stock tokenization business is the company's current "highly prioritized" strategic direction. If this model succeeds, Coinbase may break the traditional broker pattern and launch a direct impact on Wall Street on the chain.
Coinbase's Strategic Pivot: Base
Coinbase is fully promoting the Base chain, attempting to build it into the underlying infrastructure and strategic hub of an on-chain financial closed loop.
Recently, Base's head Jesse stated that Coinbase will list all Base ecosystem assets through DEX mechanism, allowing users to seamlessly trade with CEX account funds. This means that projects issued on Base can immediately reach Coinbase's full platform users. This brings enormous benefits to Base in terms of both liquidity and market attention.
In real payment scenarios, Coinbase is also promoting Base's expansion. On June 13, e-commerce platform Shopify announced a collaboration with Coinbase and Stripe, allowing merchants to accept USDC as a payment method. Consumers can now check out and shop using USDC on the Base chain in 34 countries.
Traditional financial giants have also incorporated Base into their on-chain experiments. Today, JPMorgan Chase announced a pilot issuance of JPMD tokens on Base, representing US dollar deposits. JPMD has scalability and may support interest and deposit insurance in the future, viewed as a compliant alternative to stablecoins. This indicates that large institutions are actively exploring compliant issuance, circulation, and settlement paths for on-chain assets, with Base potentially becoming an important foothold for banks, brokers, and payment platforms to "go on-chain".
From a strategic perspective, Base is the key bridge for Coinbase towards on-chain primary market, on-chain brokerage, on-chain payment, and even "on-chain banking". Base carries ecosystem activity, while Coinbase recovers entry and assets through CEX.
From stock tokenization to on-chain payment and stablecoins, to large institutional asset issuance experiments, Coinbase is trying to build a "compliant on-chain financial empire" using three major weapons: bit, stock, and chain. However, the ever-changing regulatory policies, fierce competition, and the deep integration of technology and compliance are unavoidable tests for this "empire" expansion.
