Apple and Nvidia Tokenized Stocks Back USDC Loans on Aave
Apple And Nvidia Tokenized Stocks Can Now Back USDC Loans On Aave
Aave has launched a new “Equities Hub” on Base that allows eligible non-U.S. users to use tokenized shares of major U.S. companies as collateral to borrow USDC.
The market supports seven Coinbase-issued tokenized equities at launch: Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. The tokens are collateral-only for now, meaning users can deposit them to secure loans but cannot borrow the equity tokens themselves.
The setup mirrors a familiar concept from traditional finance: borrowing against a portfolio without selling it. In brokerage accounts, securities-backed lending is common, but implementing it onchain has been difficult due to requirements around ownership, custody, pricing, and liquidation mechanics.
Each tokenized equity is issued by Coinbase Onchain SPV Ltd. and represents a certificate linked to underlying shares held at Alpaca Securities in segregated custody. This structure is designed to provide holders economic exposure to the underlying equities, rather than relying on a purely synthetic token that only tracks price.
On Aave’s Equities Hub, users can supply these tokenized equities into a dedicated collateral market and borrow USDC as the only borrowable asset at launch. Stock-against-stock borrowing is not enabled, keeping the initial design focused on drawing dollar-denominated liquidity against equity exposure.
Pricing for the collateral is provided by Chainlink market data. Chainlink’s tokenized-equity price feeds follow an extended U.S. equity-market schedule rather than updating continuously through weekends, introducing a different cadence than DeFi protocols, which operate 24/7.
Access to the tokenized stocks is restricted. Coinbase’s tokenized equities are Regulation S securities, available only to eligible users outside the United States in permitted jurisdictions. As a result, the new collateral market is not available as a route for U.S. retail users to borrow against tokenized Apple or Nvidia exposure through DeFi.
More broadly, the launch signals a shift in how tokenized stocks may be used onchain. Beyond trading and transfers, they are beginning to function as collateral in lending markets—an early step toward connecting traditional equity exposure with DeFi borrowing.
