The asset management arm of exchange giant Coinbase (COIN) is bringing its Bitcoin Yield Fund online, creating a tokenized share class of the fund with $3.5 trillion fund administrator Apex Group.
The Coinbase Bitcoin Yield Fund, managed by Coinbase Asset Management (CBAM), will be accessible to investors on the Base network, Coinbase’s blockchain built on Ethereum. Apex remains the transfer agent, maintaining records aligned with the net asset value of the fund.
The launch comes as global asset managers see tokenization as the next frontier in the evolution of capital markets, making bonds, stocks and funds tradable on blockchain rails. Companies such as BlackRock (BLK), Fidelity and Franklin Templeton have introduced tokenized funds in recent years, aiming to speed up settlement times, reduce costs and open new distribution channels.
Brett Tejpaul, head of Coinbase Institutional, said the company’s asset management business already has large allocated institutional capital, with many investors holding core positions in bitcoin and ether.
“Gradually we are getting new capital that wants to be able to compound returns, so their bet is not just on Bitcoin appreciating, but by waiting for its price to rise, they are earning yield along the way,” he told CoinDesk.
“The Bitcoin Yield Fund allows them to do this by selling call options or participating in loan agreements.”
Tokenized assets potentially represent a multi-trillion dollar market, with estimates ranging from McKinsey’s projection of $2 trillion by 2030 to BCG and Ripple’s $18.9 trillion target by 2033.
Apex, a major player in the fund services industry supporting $3.5 trillion in assets, is also increasingly moving toward tokenization. Last year it acquired Tokeny, a specialist that has facilitated the tokenization of more than $32 billion in assets. Apex also announced plans to tokenize $100 billion in funds using the T-REX Ledger by June 2027 to manage ownership and compliance across multiple blockchains.
In the case of the Coinbase Bitcoin Yield Fund, the tokenized share class uses the ERC-3643 token standard, which encodes investor checks directly into the token. Only approved investors can hold or transfer the asset, with identity linked to each wallet through a dedicated onboarding process.
The configuration replaces manual compliance checks with automated rules. If a wallet is not cleared, the transaction fails. This could reduce friction in how institutional investors access and move fund positions.
The fund is available to non-US investors, but CBAM has announced plans to also create a tokenized share class of the US version of the fund.
