Nexo has begun offering regulated, crypto-backed credit lines to eligible customers in Australia, positioning the service as a way to access liquidity without selling digital assets. The company said the rollout follows its registration as a credit representative under Australia’s National Consumer Credit Protection Act.

In an announcement shared with Cointelegraph on Tuesday, Nexo described credit lines that let borrowers take Australian dollars or stablecoins, while posting cryptocurrency collateral. The firm said payouts are typically available within 24 hours and that the products come with flexible repayment structures, no fixed term, and no origination fees.

Key takeaways

• Nexo Australia launched crypto-backed credit lines after becoming a credit representative under Australia’s National Consumer Credit Protection Act.
• Eligible customers can borrow either Australian dollars or stablecoins using cryptocurrency collateral, avoiding asset sales.
• Availability is generally within 24 hours, with flexible repayments and no fixed term or origination fees.
• Interest rates are described as ranging from 0.9% to 21.9%, tied to the selected credit line and the customer’s loyalty tier.
• Nexo cautioned that borrowing against digital assets involves margin-call and liquidation risks if collateral value declines.

What Nexo’s Australia launch covers

According to Nexo, the new credit lines are designed for clients who want to unlock value from their holdings without liquidating them. Borrowers can choose between taking funds in Australian dollars or in stablecoins, with their cryptocurrency acting as collateral.

The firm also said there are two variants—Smart and Standard credit lines. Peter Stanhope, general manager at Nexo Australia, told Cointelegraph that the main differences are in interest rates, which assets can be used as collateral, and how collateral is managed when a borrower’s loan-to-value ratio rises.

Rates, repayment terms, and product differences

Nexo said the credit lines generally have no fixed term and include flexible repayment options, alongside “no origination fees.” It also provided a wide interest-rate range—0.9% to 21.9%—depending on both the particular credit line and the customer’s loyalty tier.

While Nexo did not break down the full pricing schedule in the announcement, its explanation of Smart versus Standard credits focused on practical risk mechanics: the way collateral is handled as leverage increases. That matters for borrowers because crypto markets can move quickly, and changes in collateral value can directly affect whether a margin call is triggered.

Collateral risk: margin calls and possible liquidation

Nexo stressed that borrowing against digital assets carries built-in downside protections for the lender—along with potential losses for the borrower. In its statement, the company said credit products involve margin-call and liquidation risks. If the value of posted collateral falls, clients could lose some or all of their collateral.

For users, this highlights a key trade-off of crypto-backed lending: liquidity is obtained without selling, but the loan structure effectively subjects collateral to price volatility. Borrowers considering the service will need to understand how the loan-to-value ratio is calculated and what thresholds prompt additional collateral demands or liquidation events.

Regulatory milestone and compliance positioning in Australia

Nexo’s move is described as a regulatory milestone in a market where consumer credit rules have been a central theme. The company said its Australian entity is registered with AUSTRAC as a virtual asset service provider and that it is a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA). These details place the firm within Australia’s broader compliance and dispute-resolution frameworks.

The launch also arrives after another notable step by a competitor earlier in the decade of Australia’s evolving crypto regulation. In May 2026, Block Earner became the first crypto loans company in Australia to secure its own Australian Credit License from ASIC, according to coverage Cointelegraph previously published here.

That comparison underscores an important distinction in how credit is being structured and authorized across the industry. Nexo’s approach hinges on being a credit representative under Australia’s consumer credit framework, while Block Earner’s earlier milestone involved obtaining a credit license from ASIC. For borrowers, the practical difference can come down to how lending activities are authorized and supervised, and what protections apply.

Why this matters for borrowers and the broader market

Crypto-backed loans have long appealed to users who want to maintain exposure to digital assets while accessing cash for spending or strategy changes. Nexo’s Australian rollout is notable because it frames that familiar model inside a regulated consumer credit pathway, potentially lowering friction for mainstream borrowers who want clearer standards for credit conduct and complaint handling.

At the same time, Nexo’s own warnings make clear that regulated access does not eliminate the core economic risk of lending against volatile collateral. The most consequential factor for customers will remain leverage management—how often and how quickly margin calls could be triggered as market prices change.

Investors and borrowers watching Australia’s credit market should pay attention to how these products perform during periods of volatility—especially around loan-to-value monitoring and the handling of margin events—as well as how other providers navigate the licensing versus credit-representative routes under Australia’s consumer credit regime.

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Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse said cryptocurrency had moved beyond the fringes of American finance on Aug. 20, citing an industry-backed estimate that more than 67 million Americans own digital assets.

Garlinghouse made the statement after attending a White House meeting with President Donald Trump, Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig and cryptocurrency industry executives.

“Crypto isn’t a fringe industry,” Garlinghouse wrote on X. He also described cryptocurrency owners as an active voting group, although the cited research measured ownership and usage rather than voting intentions.

Coinbase has secured regulatory permission in Abu Dhabi to establish an international tokenization hub that will support the issuance and custody of securities backed by underlying shares.

Coinbase said the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market has granted it Financial Services Permission to arrange deals in investments and provide custody services for the planned tokenized securities business. The approval places the U.S. crypto exchange inside ADGM’s regulated financial system as it builds infrastructure for issuing traditional assets on blockchain networks.

The securities registered and issued through the framework will be backed by underlying shares and supervised by the FSRA. Verified holders will receive economic rights tied to the assets, while certain shareholder rights, including voting, depend on vesting conditions attached to the digital securities.

Investors will be able to hold the products in digital wallets without opening a traditional brokerage account or establishing a correspondent banking relationship for transactions involving the securities. Coinbase said transfers will remain subject to sanctions screening, with assets capable of being frozen or seized at the wallet level when required.

“This is the most significant step we have taken yet toward building the infrastructure for a more open, more accessible global financial system,” Coinbase said when announcing the approval on Aug. 11.

Coinbase tokenization hub builds on Project Diamond

Abu Dhabi was already part of Coinbase’s institutional tokenization plans before the latest license. The exchange established Project Diamond as a platform for issuing blockchain-based financial instruments, initially concentrating on digital debt products for institutional users.

Project Diamond received in-principle approval from ADGM regulators before issuing its first debt instrument, a short-term discount note denominated in USDC and issued on Coinbase’s Base blockchain. The platform was initially available to registered institutional investors outside the United States.

Coinbase later expanded the infrastructure supporting the project. In December 2024, crypto.news reported that Project Diamond had integrated Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol, giving institutions access to cross-chain connectivity and verifiable data for tokenized assets.

The platform uses Coinbase’s institutional technology stack, including custody services, on-chain wallets and USDC settlement on Base. Peregrine, an ADGM-regulated entity operated by PSG Digital, was named as its flagship user when the Chainlink integration was announced.

Coinbase Institutional co-CEO Brett Tejpaul said ADGM’s decision to introduce a virtual asset regulatory framework in 2018 was an important factor behind the company’s choice of jurisdiction.

“No major financial center has yet built a framework that treats tokenized equities simultaneously as securities, blockchain-native tokens, and DeFi-composable assets,” Tejpaul said.

The latest permission moves Coinbase from institutional debt infrastructure toward a regulated structure capable of supporting tokenized securities backed by shares.

Abu Dhabi has opened regulated routes for tokenized stocks

Coinbase is entering an Abu Dhabi market where other financial and crypto companies have already received permission to offer blockchain-based investment products.

In March, Ondo Finance received approval for tokenized U.S. stocks and exchange-traded funds within ADGM. Its digital securities were admitted for trading through a Multilateral Trading Facility regulated by the FSRA.

The products were structured as equity-linked notes and provided exposure to U.S. companies including Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Tesla. Their admission created another regulated route for investors outside the United States to access blockchain-based versions of traditional securities.

Institutional custody infrastructure has developed alongside those products. BNY launched Bitcoin and Ether custody services in ADGM in May through a collaboration with Finstreet Limited and the ADI Foundation, with the bank also planning to support tokenized assets and stablecoins.

BNY had $59.4 trillion in assets under custody and administration when the service was announced, bringing one of the world’s largest traditional custodians into Abu Dhabi’s regulated digital asset sector.

Coinbase itself has already started offering tokenized equities elsewhere. In June, the exchange launched tokenized shares linked to SpaceX, Nvidia, Google, Strategy and Bitmine, with the company saying the products were backed 1:1.

Users could buy, hold, trade and redeem the assets on-chain while receiving economic exposure to dividends associated with the underlying shares. Coinbase presented the rollout as part of its Everything Exchange strategy, which combines crypto with equities, commodities, lending, payments and other financial products.

UAE expansion separates tokenization and derivatives operations

The Abu Dhabi hub forms one part of Coinbase’s expansion across the United Arab Emirates.

Its tokenized securities and on-chain capital markets operations will be centred in Abu Dhabi, while the company is developing its global derivatives business from Dubai. Coinbase has described the two businesses as among its largest international projects outside the United States.

The company had been pursuing an Abu Dhabi regulatory presence for several years. In 2023, Coinbase was in discussions with ADGM’s FSRA about obtaining regulatory permission while expanding its international operations.

Project Diamond subsequently provided the company with its first operational route into regulated blockchain-based financial instruments in the emirate. The latest FSP extends that presence into arranging investment deals and custody connected to tokenized securities.

ADGM Chief Market Development Officer Arvind Ramamurthy said Coinbase’s decision represented an endorsement of the financial centre’s regulatory framework as institutions experiment with blockchain-based capital markets.

“As tokenisation becomes an increasingly important part of capital markets infrastructure, ADGM remains committed to supporting innovation that enhances market access, transparency and investor confidence, while upholding the highest standards of regulatory oversight,” Ramamurthy said.

GCC tokenization could approach $500 billion by 2030

Coinbase is setting up the hub as governments, banks and investment firms across the Gulf put more capital and infrastructure behind tokenization.

Consulting firm Kearney and tokenization infrastructure company Ctrl Alt estimated earlier this year that tokenized real-world assets across the Gulf Cooperation Council could represent close to $500 billion by 2030.

Their estimate covers several asset classes, with private markets, investment funds and bank deposits expected to account for a large share of potential tokenized assets. Commodities alone could represent about $14 billion of the regional market by 2030, according to the research.

Abu Dhabi-based tokenization company KAIO has also attracted institutional funding for the sector. In April, the company raised $8 million from investors including Tether, Systemic Ventures, Further Ventures and Nomura-backed Laser Digital.

KAIO operates under Abu Dhabi’s regulatory framework and has worked on bringing traditional investment products from asset managers including BlackRock, Brevan Howard and Hamilton Lane onto public blockchains through tokenized feeder funds. At the time of the funding announcement, the platform managed about $100 million in on-chain assets and had processed more than $500 million in transactions.

ADGM’s digital asset rules predate much of the current institutional activity. The financial centre introduced one of the first regulatory frameworks for virtual assets in 2018, creating rules for companies providing regulated crypto and blockchain services from Abu Dhabi.

Coinbase said its new permission gives the company the regulatory basis to arrange investment transactions and provide custody for its planned tokenized securities, while transfers involving the products will remain subject to ongoing sanctions screening.