Coinbase has increased its investment in decentralized finance platform Centrifuge and named it the lead tokenization partner for its Layer 2 network Base. Under the arrangement, traditional assets including ETFs, credit funds, and structured products are expected to be issued on Base through Centrifuge’s compliance framework, turning them into transferable onchain instruments.
Centrifuge chosen as Base’s main route for tokenized assets
According to The Block, the deal is part of Coinbase’s broader push to build infrastructure that brings traditional finance onchain. Zachary Frey, head of DeFi at Base, said the team conducted a broad review of the tokenization sector before selecting Centrifuge, citing its scalable infrastructure, institutional focus, and long-term goal of bringing all assets onchain.
Centrifuge’s stack includes tokenization tools, structured finance and yield APIs, compliance tooling, and integrations with DeFi protocols. Anil Sood, the company’s chief strategy and growth officer, said pairing that infrastructure with Coinbase’s distribution across retail users, institutions, and developers could support compliant expansion for higher-quality assets inside the ecosystem. That is the commercial logic here: infrastructure on one side, reach on the other.
High-demand ETFs come first, while tokenized COIN shares remain a target
On rollout priorities, Centrifuge CEO Bhaji Illuminati said the partnership will begin with high-demand, widely recognized ETFs before extending into other asset classes. Asked whether the platform could eventually help tokenize Coinbase’s own publicly traded stock, COIN, she said that is “absolutely one of our goals.”
Illuminati added that Centrifuge was built to move a broader range of traditional financial products onchain, but liquidity and distribution still determine whether those products gain traction. In that setup, RWA platforms bring the product and technical rails, while exchanges contribute user access, trading activity, and liquidity.
Base remains small in RWA value, but its activity level stands out
Data from RWA.xyz shows that, excluding stablecoins, Base currently has about $240 million in onchain RWA value, ranking 14th across networks, ahead of Aptos but behind Mantle. By asset value, it is still a smaller player in the sector. By transaction count, though, Base remains one of the most active Ethereum Layer 2 networks, giving it room to grow if tokenized assets gain more traction there.
The relationship between the two companies predates this announcement. Coinbase Ventures previously participated in Centrifuge’s $4 million raise in 2022 and its $15 million Series A round in April 2024. Last year, Centrifuge also launched SPXA, described as the first permitted onchain S&P 500 index fund on Base. With firms such as Apollo and Janus Henderson also entering the tokenized asset market, the Coinbase-Centrifuge tie-up adds more weight to Base’s position in the regulated RWA segment.