Coinbase is looking for permission from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch -based shares based on blockchain, Reuters reported on 17 June, referring to the Chief Legal Officer of the Exchange, Paul Grewal.
The plan would enable Coinbase to offer digital tokens that represent ownership in listed companies, which means that traditional stock markets are effectively merged with blockchain infrastructure.
As Greenlit, this step can place the exchange in direct competition with regular retail brokers such as Robinhood and Charles Schwab.
New product, well -known obstacles
Grewal told the Newswire that the initiative is a “huge priority” for the stock market, which aims to protect a “not an action letter” or similar regulatory exemption. This would indicate the intention of the SEC not to challenge the launch under the current securities laws.
Tokenized shares, digital representations of shares traded on a blockchain, are often promoted as a way to save costs, to speed up the settlement times and to enable trade around the clock.
Despite the promise, they remain largely experimental in the US because of gaps in the clarity of the regulations and limited liquidity in secondary markets.
GREWAL has not confirmed whether Coinbase formally submitted a request to the SEC or has announced a timeline for rollout. He noted that greater certainty of supervisors could finally unlock a broader institutional interest in Tokenized assets.
Shifting policy
Coinbase is not only in chasing tokenized shares. Rival Exchange Kraken revealed his own version, called Xstocks last month, but only for selected areas of law outside the US due to domestic legal roadblocks.
The Push is amid a friendlier environment for crypto companies under the administration of President Donald Trump. This year the SEC dropped several lawsuits against large stock markets, including Coinbase, and assembled a new task force to draw up modern guidelines for digital assets.
For Coinbase, branching in tokenized shares represents both a new source of income and an opportunity to blur the lines between traditional brokerage services and Defi. Whether American supervisors will embrace vision can still be seen.