Aave, DeFi’s biggest lending protocol, has launched its Equities Hub on Base. Built on Aave V4 and live since September 2026, the hub gives eligible investors outside the US a way to borrow USDC against Coinbase tokenized stocks while keeping their shares.
At launch, seven tokenized US stocks count as eligible collateral. Users can borrow, repay and withdraw at any hour, 24/7. According to Aave, the protocol has originated more than $1 trillion in loans since 2020.
How the loans work
Raising cash by selling stock means losing an asset the holder expected to rise in value. Traditional finance lets shareholders borrow against their positions instead, but those loans come through brokers and private banks on private terms, and only for clients who clear the required minimums.
Aave treats this as an open market. A borrower deposits tokenized stocks as collateral, draws USDC up to the market’s limits and pays it back whenever they like. Because the terms are public, borrowers can weigh the risks before committing, and lenders can see exactly what sits behind their loans.
Why Base
Base is where Coinbase issues its tokenized stocks, which are backed by shares held in a regulated trust on behalf of token holders. Aave said this tie to the underlying asset was important because its model is built around users staying in control of what they own.
Any lending market also needs buyers for its collateral. When a position falls below the required collateral level, liquidators must be able to sell enough of the pledged assets to cover what’s owed. Coinbase tokenized stocks are already traded on onchain exchanges such as Aerodrome, and Aave says it will revisit its lending limits as token supply and trading depth increase. Native USDC on Base serves as the borrowing currency, and the network’s low transaction fees make managing a loan cheaper.
“Partnering with Base and doing it on Base is the right approach to create global markets for stock-backed lending,” said Stani Kulechov, founder and CEO of Aave. “It’s a pathway to get all stocks onchain and make them as productive as possible.”
What changes
Investors who hold their wealth in public companies instead of crypto now have access to onchain lending through the hub, and USDC suppliers get a new source of borrowing demand. Once more stocks qualify as collateral, developers can build services for investors that traditional lenders haven’t reached.
Aave is an independent protocol with no affiliation to Coinbase. The tokenized stocks in question aren’t available in the US, and the figures cited come from Aave and third-party dashboards and may change.