Coinbase Shakes Up DeFi: cbADA and cbLTC Wrapped Tokens Hit Base Network

Coinbase just dropped a bombshell on the DeFi space—Cardano (ADA) and Litecoin (LTC) are now live as wrapped tokens (cbADA, cbLTC) on Base. Traders, meet your new playground.

Why it matters: Wrapped tokens bridge the gap between legacy chains and Ethereum's ecosystem. Coinbase's move signals a strategic play to dominate cross-chain liquidity—while conveniently taking a cut of every transaction. Classic finance, but with extra steps.

The fine print: No new tokenomics here—just ADA and LTC in a shiny ERC-20 wrapper. Liquidity mining incentives? Probably coming soon to a governance proposal near you.

Bottom line: Another brick in Coinbase's walled garden. Will this actually decentralize finance, or just consolidate power under a new middleman? Place your bets.

Custody structure and liquidity plans

Coinbase said ADA and LTC deposits reside in segregated cold storage wallets governed by the same controls applied to cbETH and CBBTC reserves. 

The exchange mints cb-tokens only after confirming incoming on-chain deposits and burn them when users redeem for native assets. Liquidity incentives on Base decentralized exchanges are expected to duplicate the cbETH model, though Coinbase did not publish a timetable for bootstrap pools.

The company added that it will publish quarterly attestations covering all synthetic assets issued under the Coinbase Wrapped label. 

The new tokens conform to the existing smart contract template, which has been audited for cbETH. During an introductory period intended to seed the supply, Coinbase will not charge conversion fees.

With cbADA and cbLTC now circulating, Coinbase offers Base users ERC-20 gateways to six of the ten largest non-stablecoins by market capitalization. The exchange said its custody unit will continue to manage redemptions and monitor collateral balances in real time.