Coinbase Expands into Abu Dhabi Amid Gulf's $500 Billion Tokenization Challenge
Coinbase has chosen Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) as its international tokenization hub, and has received approval from the UAE's Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA), enabling it to arrange trading and provide custody services for tokenized securities.
This move cements the UAE's position as a regional hub and signals that the country has moved beyond being 'crypto-friendly' to building a core competitiveness through regulatory and technological infrastructure. The UAE is far from the only player in this space, with Saudi Arabia completing its first tokenized land-title transfer and the Qatar Financial Centre advancing real-estate tokenization.
The Gulf region's $500 billion in assets seeking to be tokenized faces challenges related to liquidity, with asset owners' primary concern being 'who will buy these tokens'. Research from RWALabs.ae highlights that there is a structural mismatch between technological accessibility and market scarcity. At the levels of competitive dynamics and execution details, the UAE must convince asset owners to adopt tokenization solutions.
The value of tokenization ultimately materializes at the liquidity stage, which must be built into the design from day one. The DTCC has launched its tokenization services for Russell 1000 constituents, major ETFs, and U.S. Treasuries, while the UAE is attempting to bring illiquid assets such as real estate, gold, private credit, and trade finance onto the blockchain.