Coinbase Brings Wrapped Cardano, Litecoin to Base With cbADA, cbLTC

Coinbase has introduced cardano's ADA ADA and litecoin LTC on its Ethereum layer-2 network Base via cbADA and cbLTC.

These assets are fully backed by ADA and LTC locked in Coinbase custody, minted and burned on demand at a one-to-one ratio, with regular proof-of-reserves to back up the claims. Data shows over 11,300 wrapped LTC and 2.9 million wrapped ADA have already been minted on Base and are actively circulating.

Coinbase has previously issued versions of bitcoin BTC, ether ETH, XRP XRP, and dogecoin (DOGE on Base, creating one of the most comprehensive cross-chain ecosystems in layer 2.

Wrapped tokens solve the interoperability puzzle. ADA and LTC are native to other blockchains and cannot be directly used on Ethereum or dependent layer 2s, such as Base.

However, using wrapped tokens allows holders and users to interact in onchain activities like yield farming, liquidity pools, trading, and lending — all without selling their original tokens.

Base's total value locked (TVL) is just over $3 billion as of Thursday, and ecosystem projects may offer liquidity mining incentives for these newer assets to capture value (and make fees in the process).

Read more: Coinbase Unlocks DeFi Opportunities for XRP and Dogecoin Holders on Base