Coinbase says capital access now drives wealth creation

A new report from the Coinbase Institute argues that access to capital markets, rather than income or banking access, has become the key factor in building wealth.

The paper describes a growing divide between those who can directly access markets and the “unbrokered” population that cannot.

Coinbase estimates that around four billion people are excluded from owning productive assets or raising capital due to reliance on traditional intermediaries.

In the United States, capital income has risen 136% over the past 40 years, compared with 57% growth in labour income, according to the report.

The study says layers of brokers, custodians and clearing houses make it uneconomical to serve smaller investors and issuers.

Coinbase argues that permissionless tokenisation is essential to close what it calls the global “capital chasm.”

The report warns that permissioned blockchain systems often recreate existing gatekeeper power structures.

It compares open tokenisation frameworks to internet protocols such as TCP/IP, where access cannot be selectively revoked.

Tokenisation is already expanding, with traditional financial institutions issuing and settling assets on public blockchains.

The report’s release coincided with the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, where Coinbase executives are discussing market structure reform.