Coinbase Vice Chair Says Tokenization Is Live as CLARITY Vote Nears

Coinbase Vice Chair Ryan VanGrack is pressing U.S. lawmakers to advance the CLARITY Act as financial assets increasingly move onto blockchain networks. Speaking on Bloomberg Crypto on September 8, VanGrack argued that tokenization and onchain finance are already developing commercially, making regulation a present issue rather than a future one. The comments come before a September 15 Senate cloture vote on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, a procedural test that will determine whether the chamber can move toward debating the legislation.

CLARITY Faces a 60-Vote Test

The CLARITY Act is designed to establish a federal market structure for digital assets and clarify the respective roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The House approved H.R. 3633 in 2025, and the Senate Banking Committee advanced the legislation 15-9 on May 14, 2026, with support from all committee Republicans and two Democrats.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune later filed cloture on the motion to proceed to the bill. According to the Senate schedule, that cloture motion will ripen at 2:15 p.m. on September 15. Because cloture generally requires 60 votes, Republicans cannot advance the measure without Democratic support.

The bill still faces disputes over stablecoin rewards, anti-money-laundering provisions and restrictions involving political officials’ crypto interests. Reuters reported in August that those disagreements had sharply reduced the chances of completing the legislation before the 2026 midterm elections.

One obstacle eased on September 4 when the National Sheriffs’ Association changed its position from opposition to neutral, although it did not formally endorse the bill.

Coinbase Is Already Tokenizing Stocks

VanGrack’s argument is supported by products Coinbase has already developed outside the U.S.

Coinbase Tokenized Stocks represent claims on underlying U.S. shares held in a bankruptcy-remote structure. Coinbase says holders have a senior claim on the underlying equity, while dividends and stock splits are reflected through an onchain adjustment mechanism.

The securities run on Base and can trade around the clock. However, an important limitation is that they are offered under Regulation S and are not available to U.S. persons or users in other restricted jurisdictions. Primary minting and redemption are also limited to approved institutional participants rather than every retail token holder.

Coinbase has also established an international tokenization hub in Abu Dhabi Global Market. In August, the company received Financial Services Permission from the ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority to arrange investment transactions and provide custody supporting tokenized securities.

That development gives Coinbase a regulated jurisdiction from which to expand tokenized financial products even while U.S. market-structure legislation remains unsettled.

Derivatives Push Extends Beyond Crypto

Coinbase is also broadening its derivatives business through Deribit. Coinbase’s derivatives platform now covers perpetual futures, dated futures and options across more than 140 markets, while Deribit and Coinbase International Exchange remain restricted to eligible non-U.S. customers in selected jurisdictions.

Deribit has prepared real-world-asset perpetual contracts linked to equities, ETFs and commodities. These contracts are quoted, margined and settled in USDC and provide price exposure without ownership of the underlying security.

However, Deribit’s own documentation states that some RWA contracts remain forthcoming, so it would be inaccurate to describe the entire stock-perpetual lineup as fully live.

The distinction between tokenized shares and perpetual contracts is also important. Coinbase’s tokenized stocks are backed by underlying equity, while perpetual futures are derivatives that track asset prices without conveying stock ownership.

Conclusion

VanGrack’s central policy argument is that blockchain-based financial products are already operating while U.S. lawmakers continue debating the legal framework around them. Coinbase now has tokenized equities for eligible international customers, a regulated tokenization operation in Abu Dhabi and an expanding derivatives business.

The September 15 CLARITY vote will not make the bill law, but it will be an important test of whether the Senate has enough bipartisan support to continue consideration. Even if cloture succeeds, further Senate debate, possible amendments and additional legislative steps would remain.

For Coinbase, the issue is increasingly about jurisdiction rather than technical capability. Tokenization infrastructure is already being deployed; the unresolved question is how quickly the United States will establish federal rules governing it.