How Tokenization Platforms Will Make Money
Tokenization isn’t just a tech upgrade — it’s a new revenue model. Platforms like Coinbase Tokenize, JPMorgan Onyx, and Goldman GS DAP monetize RWAs across multiple layers of the financial stack.

Here’s how it works:
- Issuance Fees: Coinbase charges issuers to tokenize assets — think $200K–$500K per deal, depending on complexity.
- Custody Fees: Institutional clients pay 25–50 bps annually to store tokenized assets securely.
- Trading Fees: Secondary market transactions incur 0.1–0.5% per trade, similar to Coinbase Exchange.
- Settlement Fees: On-chain settlement via Base generates sequencer fees, MEV capture, and data availability revenue.
- Compliance Services: Platforms offer KYC, audit trails, and permissioned access — monetized like SaaS.
- API Licensing: Enterprise clients pay for integration, lifecycle management, and white-label issuance.
Coinbase also benefits from USDC float and velocity. More tokenized assets mean more stablecoin usage — generating interest income and reinforcing its role as a settlement layer.
Unlike traditional finance, where fees are siloed, tokenization platforms monetize every layer: issuance, custody, trading, settlement, and compliance. It’s a vertically integrated model with high margins and recurring revenue.
As RWAs scale, these platforms won’t just digitize assets — they’ll reshape how financial infrastructure earns.