Coinbase announced Tuesday that it has selected Centrifuge as its preferred tokenization infrastructure and made a strategic investment in the company.
The deal will see Centrifuge serve as the default issuance layer for tokenized assets across Coinbase’s ecosystem, including products on Base. The first wave of institutional assets is expected to launch on Base in the coming weeks, the companies said.
Coinbase’s foray into tokenized capital markets spans ETFs, credits, and structured products. The deal with Centrifuge makes Coinbase an infrastructure partner for external asset managers who want to issue products on-chain, but not exclusively.
Last week, Coinbase Asset Management announced the issuance of the CUSHY stablecoin credit fund through Superstate’s FundOS platform, and in March it leveraged Apex Group to tokenize the Bitcoin Yield Fund share class on Base. Coinbase Ventures also already invested in Centrifuge, backing a strategic round in 2022.
Centrifuge powers on-chain strategies for Apollo, Janus Henderson, and S&P Dow Jones Indices. According to DeFiLlama data, the total amount locked in mid-2025 exceeded $1 billion and currently stands at $1.66 billion.
The transaction comes as tokenized real-world assets have grown to approximately $27 billion on-chain. Of this, tokenized government bonds and other fixed income products account for approximately $16 billion.
The RWA sector is currently led by Securitize and Ondo Finance, with major stablecoin issuers Tether and Circle also operating through tokenized gold products and money market funds, respectively.
“The key now is not to get assets on-chain, but to get the right assets on-chain in the right way,” said Bhaji Illuminati, CEO of Centrifuge.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong announced earlier Tuesday that the exchange would lay off 14% of its workforce, citing redundancy due to AI tools.
