Jesse Pollak, the creator and head of Coinbase's Base network, told attendees at Token2049 in Singapore on October 7, 2026, that the next crypto cycle will be built on tokenized equities and non-dollar stablecoins rather than new memecoins.

Speaking on the conference stage, Pollak framed the coming "tokenization supercycle" around two parallel tracks. Local-currency stablecoins would handle everyday payments in users' home currencies, while tokenized US equities would bring traditional stocks on-chain with continuous settlement. "Countries are going to keep using their own currencies," Pollak said, arguing the on-chain economy will need money that matches those domestic monetary systems.

What does Base already offer?

The prediction rests on a live product. Coinbase introduced 1:1-backed tokenized equities on Base in August 2026, with an initial lineup that included tickers for Nvidia, Meta, Apple, and Google. Each token is meant to correspond to an actual underlying share, not a synthetic derivative or price-tracking contract.

Spot trading volume for tokenized equities on Base exceeded $100 million per day as of early October 2026, with market share described as increasing. Unlike traditional equity markets, the tokens trade 24/7.

How does corporate-action handling work?

Rather than physically moving shares after a stock split or dividend event, Base uses on-chain multipliers paired with Chainlink oracles. Chainlink feeds real-world corporate-action data to the token contract, which then updates a multiplier that adjusts how much underlying stock each token represents.

That architecture removes a layer of settlement friction but introduces a dependency on external oracle reliability. For institutions evaluating the product, the question of whether Chainlink's data feeds can withstand an audit is now part of the trust model.

What's the lending plan?

Pollak also pointed to portfolio-backed borrowing as the next product line. Users would post tokenized equity holdings as collateral and borrow stablecoins against them. The targeted loan-to-value ratio is 30-40%, a deliberately conservative band given the volatility of single-name equity exposure.

Lending against volatile equities carries liquidation risk. The modest LTV range suggests Base is calibrating for that risk rather than chasing yield.

How does this reshape Base's strategy?

Pollak described the move into tokenized assets as a pivot. Base launched in 2023 as a consumer-facing Ethereum Layer-2 with an early focus on social apps and onchain gaming. Financial infrastructure is now the strategic center of gravity.

The pivot puts Base in direct competition with Robinhood and Kraken, both of which have built tokenization offerings. Coinbase's distribution advantage, through its retail brokerage and custody stack, is the moat Pollak is betting on.

The 1:1 backing model is likely to be the deciding factor for larger participants. Institutions care less about 24/7 trading than about whether a token actually maps to a real share they could deliver, vote with, or report to a custodian. A synthetic product would not clear that bar.

The reported $100 million-plus in daily volume suggests demand exists beyond early adopters. Whether that volume scales into durable institutional flow will depend on regulatory clarity, oracle reliability, and the willingness of issuers to onboard their shareholder registers to a Layer-2 settlement layer. Pollak's supercycle thesis now has a measured runway to prove itself.