Coinbase establishes Abu Dhabi tokenization hub as GCC blockchain market flourishes

Abu Dhabi’s bid to become a global hub for digital assets got a major boost last week when crypto exchange giant, Coinbase, announced it is establishing an international “tokenization hub” in the emirate.

Based out of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), the emirate’s financial centre, Coinbase has been granted a license to arrange investment deals and provide custody for tokenized securities. Custody essentially means safely holding and managing the digital ownership records for assets and is therefore important for giving institutional investors confidence.

Tokenization has been rapidly gaining momentum across traditional finance globally, with major asset managers and banks increasingly bringing funds, bonds, private credit and equities onto blockchain infrastructure.

Abu Dhabi has emerged as a key testing ground for this transition.

ADGM introduced one of the world’s first comprehensive virtual asset regulatory frameworks back in 2018 and has since attracted a steady wave of crypto and tokenization firms looking to establish a regulated base in the region.

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