Aave has launched its new Equities Hub on Base, opening a way for eligible non-U.S. users to borrow USDC against tokenized stock collateral. Starting September 25, users outside the United States can deposit tokens representing shares of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. These Coinbase-issued tokens are collateral-only at launch: users can deposit them to unlock USDC loans, but cannot borrow the equity tokens themselves or open stock-against-stock positions.
What sets the hub apart is how it insulates risk: USDC suppliers explicitly opt into this market, separate from Aave’s broader Base lending markets, and each stock token collateral type has its own risk parameters. Governance also limits the borrow side to USDC for now, keeping the initial setup narrow.
Aave’s move to accept tokenized stocks as collateral on Base is the watchpoint as real-world assets enter DeFi lending in size.