Abstract: Coinbase’s 2026 Funding Outlook positions real-world belongings (RWAs) as the following structural section of crypto adoption. The alternate plans to increase past spot crypto buying and selling into tokenized equities, non-public credit score, commodities, and RWA perpetuals—leveraging 24/7 markets, international entry, and on-chain settlement to compete instantly with conventional monetary infrastructure.
Coinbase 2026 Outlook Report
Coinbase’s Investor Outlook Report is a extremely anticipated publication that buyers and companies use to spot rising tendencies throughout the market. This 12 months’s report marks the 4th consecutive 12 months that North America’s largest alternate launched the information, which has change into an integral a part of many buyers’ planning. Here’s what the report says you’ll be able to count on within the subsequent 12 months.
Why Coinbase Expects Crypto Markets to Speed up
The core thesis of the report is a prediction of accelerated development for the blockchain sector. It particularly identifies stablecoins, tokenized belongings, and ETF inflows as the first catalysts driving this momentum into hyperdrive.
Coinbase’s “Everything Change” Technique
The report highlights Coinbase’s function out there and its future intentions. In accordance to the doc, Coinbase will take a broader method to the blockchain sector, searching for to evolve from the most important crypto alternate in North America into one of many largest suppliers of blockchain-based belongings globally.
This pivot will embrace a renewed deal with crypto, tokenized shares, prediction markets, futures, and choices. In accordance to CEO Brian Armstrong, the platform intends to capitalize on latest pro-crypto rules to additional its positioning within the stablecoin and funds markets.
Moreover, Coinbase will push its Base blockchain for tokenization and stablecoin initiatives, with the objective of constructing the community developer-friendly and extra accessible. Armstrong spoke on how the alternate plans to evolve into the premier tokenization platform globally.
Actual-World Asset (RWA) Tokenization Defined
An enormous a part of Coinbase’s pivot focuses on the tokenization of Actual World Property (RWAs). This business continues to increase, with the report highlighting 18X development since 2022. Whereas the alternate intends to all the time present buying and selling, storage, and administration companies for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, it would now delve aggressively into tokenization methods.
Tokenization refers to the digitization of belongings onto a blockchain. Latest regulatory modifications and improved belief for blockchain programs have made tokenizing belongings simpler and safer than ever. The RWA motion facilities on bringing conventional belongings—like bonds, actual property, and credit score—onto the blockchain.
As soon as tokenized, these belongings will be transferred as simply as cryptocurrencies. In addition they take pleasure in extra advantages like elevated trackability. One of many predominant advantages is that tokenized belongings can have their regulatory necessities “baked” into their code, lowering the necessity for guide third-party intermediaries.
Third Pillar of Digital Property
The report locations RWAs because the third pillar of crypto alongside conventional cash like Bitcoin and stablecoins. It highlights development within the tokenized fairness sector—particularly in artificial tokens, which supply publicity to markets, and within the full safety token sector. The latter represents a authorized declare on the underlying safety held by a regulated custodian.
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| RWA Phase | Estimated Market Dimension (2025) | Progress Driver | Coinbase Relevance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-public Credit score | ~$19B | Yield demand, on-chain settlement | Custody, collateralization, institutional rails |
| Tokenized Treasuries | ~$2–3B | Money administration, steady yield | Stablecoin liquidity, institutional entry |
| Tokenized Equities | <$1B | 24/7 markets, international attain | RWA perpetuals, artificial publicity |
| Tokenized Commodities | ~$3B+ | Inflation hedging, transparency | Gold, vitality, and real-asset buying and selling merchandise |
| Artificial RWAs | Early-stage | Regulatory-efficient publicity | Core to Coinbase’s perpetuals technique |
Non-public Credit score
Apparently, the report excludes a number of giant tokenization platforms like Figure. The paper explains that these platforms have been excluded as a result of they don’t assist direct wallet-level portability. Nevertheless, it notes that if these platforms have been considered, it might make non-public credit score the most important tokenized asset at the moment.
Regulated Publicity
Tokenized belongings present one other main profit in that they provide oblique publicity to markets. Coinbase has stated that it intends to present artificial publicity to key markets sooner or later. Particularly, you would see tokenized oil, gold, or actual property on the platform within the coming months.
Artificial publicity has some key benefits, particularly for institutional funding companies searching for to enter the market. For one, it allows institutional buyers to acquire entry to markets with out holding belongings instantly. This functionality offers companies who can not threat regulatory scrutiny the power to present publicity to purchasers with out including operational threat.
New Laws
The GENIUS ACT (signed July 2025) is cited alongside a extra agreeable SEC stance as one of many predominant causes the RWA market is increasing so rapidly. The paper highlights initiatives like BlackRock’s (BLK -0.74%) BUIDL tokenized cash market fund as essential service suppliers.
Ethereum Dominates the RWA Sector
The information additionally reveals that Ethereum and its L2s are nonetheless the dominant pressure when it comes to internet hosting RWAs and settling transactions. Nevertheless, the report explains that as of mid-2025, extra RWA-centric networks have emerged, they usually proceed to reduce into Ethereum’s dominance.
Actual World Asset Perpetuals
Coinbase states that it’ll enter the RWA perpetuals sector to change into the premier location for these belongings. RWA perpetuals open the door for a plethora of latest revenue-generating companies and options. For instance, tokenized belongings might be in a position to make the most of DeFi options to enhance returns.
Extra Buying and selling Time
RWA perpetuals have a bonus over conventional belongings in that they supply round the clock buying and selling. Shares and different conventional belongings have restricted market hours. Coinbase seeks to remove these inconveniences by enabling RWA perpetuals to be traded 24/7, opening the door for extra liquidity and ROI alternatives, alongside elevated capital effectivity.
International Entry
Coinbase has famous that this maneuver may even open the door for worldwide buyers to acquire publicity to key US markets. For instance, overseas buyers can acquire publicity to treasuries and shares by way of tokenization which will not be obtainable to them utilizing conventional brokerage accounts.
Tokenized Equities
The report reveals that tokenized public equities are nonetheless solely a small portion of the RWA market. The report locations tokenized inventory values at below $1B versus the standard equities market. This information means that tokenized belongings are firstly of widespread adoption, a key issue that has led Coinbase to reconfigure its whole technique to assist the shift.
Advantages of Tokenized Equities
There are a number of explanation why each buyers and Coinbase are keen to usher in RWA tokenized belongings. For one, they assist to scale back settlement delays. Blockchain belongings leverage know-how and prearranged necessities to scale back the necessity for third events and delays.
Keenly, the method reduces the complexity of the whole transaction. When coping with cross-border fairness markets, there are often a number of transactions that should happen. Every one provides to the prices of the transaction, slowly lowering ROIs. This direct method reduces intermediate prices.
Pre-IPO Entry
One of many greatest benefits of RWAs—and a predominant purpose why Coinbase is so keen to nook this market—is that it may be used to supply buyers entry to high-demand belongings earlier than their availability. For instance, Coinbase’s report speaks on the tokenization of late-stage non-public firms (like OpenAI), enabling buyers to entry alternatives that used to solely be obtainable to accredited people.
Dangers of Tokenized Equities
The report additionally highlights dangers that buyers want to take into account. One of many predominant points is a scarcity of liquidity. The comparatively new nature of those belongings signifies that their markets are skinny. When coping with markets like this, buyers ought to put together for extra slippage and volatility.
Oracle Danger
One other main concern is Oracle pricing discrepancies. Since tokenized belongings depend on these off-chain sensors to convert inventory costs from the market to the blockchain, any points, errors, or delays may end up in value discrepancies between the token and the underlying asset.
Regulatory Fragmentation
One other main problem that Coinbase will deal with in 2026 helps to create a uniform regulatory setting for digital belongings. Because it stands now, differing rules throughout jurisdictions lead to a lack of readability and make cross-border transactions advanced. Coinbase will search to simplify and unify these markets to streamline future transactions.
US Treasuries
Apparently, the quantity of tokenized treasuries doubled since this time final 12 months. This development was fueled by a number of elements, together with sturdy institutional investor assist and rising investor confidence within the tech.
Tokenized Commodities
Coinbase famous that the tokenized commodities sector skilled 3x development in 2025. These belongings deal with tokenized items like gold, silver, and different metals. The report reveals that gold is the most well-liked asset utilized in these initiatives. Networks like PAX Gold (PAXG -0.88%) and Tether Gold (XAUT -0.45%) now have a mixed market cap of +$3B and are rising.
The information additionally reveals that agricultural commodities are the slowest to embrace tokenization. Nevertheless, it factors out potential development, highlighting initiatives like JusToken. This protocol allows customers to commerce tokenized agricultural items like soybeans, cotton, or corn.
Non-public Credit score
On-chain mortgage registries have confirmed to be a useful instrument for buyers who use these protocols to save on charges and settlement instances. The report reveals that personal credit score now accounts for +$19B of the tokenized RWA sector, and it predicts that it’ll stay the most well-liked RWA choice in 2026.
Extra Lending Protocols
The report additionally highlights a development by which RWAs are more and more getting used as collateral on lending platforms. On this approach, these belongings have begun to function as elementary collateral quite than easy funding automobiles. Coinbase predicts that RWAs will change into the core entry level for conventional cash shifting into the blockchain sector.
Different Attention-grabbing Information
Not all the report centered on RWAs. The paper highlights the rising significance of stablecoins, calling them the premier use case for cryptocurrencies shifting ahead. The information reveals that this market will surpass $1.2T in worth by the top of 2028.
Privateness First
Whereas highlighting regulatory developments, the paper additionally notes what number of crypto customers turned in the direction of privateness cash. The report means that as extra regulatory necessities enter the market, builders will combine key privateness applied sciences like zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) and absolutely homomorphic encryption (FHE) to improve anonymity.
Regulatory Progress
A lot of this 12 months’s report focuses on how latest rules—particularly the 2025 GENIUS ACT—have opened the door for widespread adoption. The report factors out a number of landmark U.S. and international regulatory advances and the way they’ve enabled new services.
It additionally touches on the growth of Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs). The information means that DATs will assist to stabilize the market and drive liquidity, with the platform suggesting DATs are set to expertise huge development in 2026.
Macroeconomic Backdrop
Zoomed out, the report seems to be on the US financial scenario to decide the community’s well being. The information counsel that the economic system stays sturdy, main many analysts to predict room for development this 12 months throughout key sectors just like the stablecoin market.
Coinbase
Coinbase entered the market in 2012 as a Bitcoin alternate. The corporate’s founders, Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, met in a web-based chatroom earlier than sharing their concepts for a serious centralized alternate that might streamline Bitcoin adoption.
In 2013, Coinbase secured $5M in Sequence A funding, enabling it to increase its community and choices. Since that point, the corporate secured hundreds of thousands in extra funding, and in 2021, the corporate went public on the NASDAQ. Right now, it is among the most influential platforms out there.
Investor Takeaway: Coinbase’s pivot towards RWA perpetuals and tokenized conventional belongings reframes the corporate from a cyclical crypto alternate right into a full-stack monetary market operator. If RWAs change into the first on-ramp for institutional capital, Coinbase stands to profit from higher-margin buying and selling, custody, and infrastructure revenues which can be much less depending on retail crypto cycles.
Coinbase International, Inc. (COIN -1.6%)
Coinbase’s pivot in the direction of RWAs is smart and can allow the corporate to function as a key infrastructure proprietor for buyers. As one of many largest crypto exchanges on the planet, the platform holds immense affect. It has helped to construct client belief and labored with regulators to develop crypto-friendly laws. These searching for an alternate that has its eye on the massive image ought to do extra analysis into Coinbase and its choices.
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Coinbase Developed | Conclusion
It’s attention-grabbing to see Coinbase evolve from a easy Bitcoin alternate into a fancy blockchain ecosystem that helps the whole lot from DeFi to the newest tokenization efforts. This pioneering spirit is among the core explanation why Coinbase frequently finds success. It’s additionally why the platform will stay a dominant pressure out there as crypto makes the leap from retail to institutional buyers.
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