What is Coinbase Wrapped ADA (CBADA)?
Coinbase Wrapped ADA ("cbADA") is a token that is backed 1:1 by native Cardano (ADA) held by Coinbase, meaning that for all cbADA in circulation, there is an equivalent amount of ADA held in a secure custody solution (including cold storage) provided by Coinbase. Wrapped assets, like cbADA, are transferable tokens that are redeemable for the underlying asset. Coinbase customers can unwrap cbADA and redeem a corresponding amount of the underlying ADA simply by depositing the cbADA into their Coinbase accounts.
How does Coinbase Wrapped ADA work?
cbADA is built to be seamlessly compatible with DeFi applications, giving customers the option to tap into DeFi and unlock financial utility. cbADA removes a key point of friction by allowing customers to use ADA they already hold in new ways onchain. cbADA is built to be seamlessly compatible with DeFi applications, so users can now tap into novel DeFi use cases like providing their ADA as liquidity to DeFi protocols, using it as collateral to borrow other crypto assets, or spending it as a payment method.
What is Coinbase Wrapped ADA used for?
Wrapped assets like cbADA are a mature concept in the crypto world, helping to bring more liquid assets onchain and facilitate an expansive financial ecosystem.
Where can you buy Coinbase Wrapped ADA?
Coinbase Wrapped ADA (CBADA) is traded on a wide range of centralized and decentralized exchanges. The most liquid markets for CBADA sit on tier-1 venues - the sort of exchanges where institutional desks and professional market makers rebalance continuously - which is what keeps the spread tight and the last price tied closely to fair value.
You can open the Markets section above to see the live list of exchanges quoting CBADA, sorted by 24-hour volume. Each row links to the venue's trade page so you can go directly from research to execution without copying the ticker around by hand.