Coinbase seeks SEC greenlight for tokenized stocks to compete with Robinhood, Charles Schwab

Coinbase is pushing for regulatory clarity to bring tokenized equities to U.S. customers, Paul Grewal, the company's chief legal officer, told Reuters on Tuesday. If approved, the move could allow the crypto exchange to offer blockchain-based trading of traditional stocks — putting it on a collision course with brokerages like Robinhood and Charles Schwab.Describing the initiative as a "huge priority," Grewal said Coinbase is seeking a no-action letter or exemptive relief from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Such a letter would signal that the SEC’s staff won't pursue enforcement if Coinbase proceeds with offering tokenized shares, which are digitized representations of real-world equities.The effort marks Coinbase's latest push to expand beyond crypto assets, as it seeks new revenue streams and deeper institutional adoption. Last week, Coinbase unveiled an American Express-powered credit card and partnership with Shopify and Stripe for a USDC stablecoin payments push.Grewal said that regulatory uncertainty has been a barrier to the broader uptake of blockchain-based securities trading.Tokenized equities promise faster settlement, 24/7 trading, and lower costs compared to legacy infrastructure, but they remain off-limits to U.S. investors for now. Coinbase’s move comes just weeks after rival Kraken announced xStocks, which will feature tokenized versions of more than 50 stocks and ETFs, and be available in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia, The Block previously reported.Coinbase is not currently a registered broker-dealer and has faced regulatory heat in the past. The SEC sued the crypto exchange in 2023 for operating without proper registration. That case was dropped earlier this year.Grewal declined to say whether Coinbase has formally submitted a request to the SEC or offered a timeline for launch.Coinbase tried to issue a tokenized version of COIN as part of its S1 process in 2021 but couldn’t get it over the line with the SEC."We would have loved to see a crypto-native version of our stock as the first major crypto company to go public," a spokesperson told The Block in March. "We're considering a range of options to bring tokenization innovation to traditional financial assets such as securities to make them more efficient and accessible."Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.