Coinbase looks toward diamond-handed institutions with new digital-asset project launch

Coinbase and Coinbase Asset Management have launched “Project Diamond” — a smart contract-powered platform designed to enable institutions to create, manage, buy and sell a range of digitally native assets directly on-chain.

Coinbase Asset Management said Project Diamond’s initial use case will be confined to registered institutional users outside of the U.S. It works by leveraging Coinbase Prime custody, Coinbase’s web3 wallet, the USDC +0.02% stablecoin and the Coinbase-incubated Ethereum Layer 2 blockchain Base, according to an announcement.

The platform executed its first digital debt instrument on Nov. 10 as a feasibility demonstration for the UAE’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority. The demonstration was made in preparation for entering the Abu Dhabi Global Market RegLab, having received in-principle approval to conduct regulated activity within the sandbox. The ADGM RegLab is a specially tailored regulatory framework providing a controlled environment for FinTech participants to develop and test innovative solutions, according to its website.

Coinbase argues that less than 0.25% of global assets are currently represented on blockchain infrastructure, indicating significant potential for efficiency gains. Project Diamond aims to bridge this gap — with its initial digital discount note demonstration, denominated in USDC, transacted within a single application at near-instant settlement speed on Base, Coinbase added.

Yesterday, Coinbase’s crypto exchange listed SEAM, the governance token of decentralized lending and borrowing platform Seamless Protocol, as the native Base-based token began its airdrop.

Last week, Coinbase rolled out money transfers via links sent on WhatsApp, TikTok and Instagram using Coinbase Wallet.