Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong Declares Tokenized Stocks Will Be Huge - Here’s Why
Wall Street's paper certificates are getting a blockchain makeover—and one crypto titan says the transformation will be seismic.
The Tokenization Tsunami
Forget dusty stock certificates and three-day settlement delays. Tokenization slashes through legacy finance's red tape, turning traditional equities into liquid, programmable digital assets on-chain. It bypasses custodial middlemen and unlocks 24/7 global markets.
More Than Just Hype
Armstrong's prediction isn't plucked from thin air. The infrastructure is being built now—regulated rails, compliance tech, and institutional-grade wallets. Early pilots with treasury bonds and funds already show the model works. The real unlock comes when everyday stocks trade alongside crypto, merging two financial worlds into one frictionless system.
The Cynical Take
Of course, Wall Street loves a new wrapper for the same old product—especially if it means collecting fees on both the tokenization and the eventual re-hypothecation. Some things never change, even on a blockchain.
The race is on. The first major exchange to fully bridge traditional equities with DeFi liquidity doesn't just win a market—it rewires global finance itself.
X users agree that tokenization offers real benefits, some sharing Armstrong’s optimism for growth
In response to Armstrong’s post, X user Andreas Kohl supported the executive’s argument that tokenized shares will blow up. However, he excluded the derivatives of CSD-held shares on Base in his success projection, adding, “What’s going to be huge is on-chain DRS with disintermediated trading for native BTC.”
Another X commenter, Jack Holdorrson, shared his Optimism that capital markets will be tokenized in the years to come.
Another X user also pointed out that while tokenized stocks come with real upsides, including continuous trading and fractional ownership, the government is hijacking them. He explained that Washington is dressing up old Wall Street politics in blockchain language instead of letting real innovation happen. He slammed the U.S. law, which sets up a $55 million government program run by 11 insider-heavy advisory committees. He likened it to the 2008 bailout, saying it feels more like a handout to powerful players than real innovation.
These comments come as tokenized stocks are gaining ground as a means for ordinary people to access investment opportunities that have long been reserved for high-net-worth individuals and other accredited investors. However, while retail traders’ interest in the emerging asset class is accelerating, some experts are cautioning them to slow down. This is because tokenized stocks are less regulated, and they can pose more legal and financial risks to inexperienced traders, some experts say.
“With a token, it is an instrument not issued by the company,” said James Angel, an associate professor at Georgetown University. “It’s a side bet on the future prospects of the company.”
Additionally, the German Foundation Coin stated, Tokenization is powerful. But only if legal rights, settlement finality, and accountability are enforced on-chain, not just promised off-chain. Access and liquidity scale fast. Trust and enforceability don’t – unless they’re designed into the system.”
Armstrong stated that Coinbase will establish an “everything app.”
Earlier, Armstrong revealed that Coinbase is building an all-in-one exchange for everything from crypto to stocks and commodities in 2026. The plan positions Coinbase to challenge major brokerage firms and expand into new types of digital trading.
The platform has also recently partnered with prediction market Kalshi. Last November, some images surfaced showing Coinbase testing a prediction market that allows users to trade with USDC or USD on topics such as politics, sports, and the economy. According to reports, Coinbase Financial Markets manages the offering, creating event contracts that are simple binary bets under Kalshi’s rules.
Coinbase is also moving to produce tokenized shares internally, departing from rivals who depend on external partners. Robinhood and Kraken continue to utilize external partners for stock tokens in select jurisdictions, although U.S. users are currently unable to access them. So far, tokenized equity transfers have increased by nearly 76% over the last month, reaching around $2.46 billion, according to RWA.xyz.
In December, Coinbase also announced plans to acquire The Clearing Company to strengthen its event-based trading offerings. Its agreement with the prediction platform will formally close this month. Following the acquisition, the Clearing Company’s staff will support Coinbase in expanding its prediction markets, with nearly all its 10 employees joining the exchange.
The exchange has yet to confirm deal value, although it noted it will pay for the acquisition in both cash and Coinbase stock. The Clearing company’s executive, Gemayel, at the time told reporters that joining Coinbase gives them the chance to bring their knowledge to a bigger audience, emphasizing that prediction markets thrive on strong structure and broad distribution.
Beyond the Clearing Company deal, Coinbase also revealed its deals with Roam, Spindl, Iron Fish, Deribit, Opyn Markets, Liquifi, Sensible, Echo, and Vector.fun, last year.
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