PNC and Coinbase Partner to Develop Crypto Financial Solutions

PNC Bank and Coinbase have partnered to develop a solution that will allow the bank’s clients to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies.

This project is part of a new partnership between the companies that also includes PNC adding other crypto financial solutions for its clients and providing select banking services to Coinbase, the companies said in a Tuesday (July 22) press release.

The partnership brings together PNC’s client service and innovation in financial services, and Coinbase’s crypto-as-a-service (CaaS) platform, according to the release.

“This collaboration enables us to meet growing demand for secure and streamlined access to digital assets on PNC’s trusted platform,” PNC Chairman and CEO William S. Demchak said in the release.

Brett Tejpaul, head of Coinbase Institutional, said in the release: “We’re thrilled to support [PNC’s] entry into the digital asset market with our leading crypto-as-a-service platform, which provides PNC with a powerful set of tools to develop a scalable, high-growth business, built on a foundation of uncompromising security.”

Coinbase Institutional focuses on expanding Coinbase’s institutional client base and introducing features and services expected by institutional investors, the company said in a Jan. 22 blog post.

“The regulatory tide is turning,” Tejpaul and Greg Tusar, vice president, institutional product at Coinbase, wrote in the post. “As pro-crypto legislation emerges, traditional financial institutions are increasingly entering the space. These changes signal a broader recognition of crypto’s potential as an asset class and the importance of regulated, trusted partners in this transformation.”

During PNC’s July 16 earnings call, Demchak said the company would be adding solutions related to crypto and stablecoins.

“First off, you should expect to see from us announcements with respect to using our payment technology to help crypto companies,” Demchak said. “Now we are allowed to bank people in that business and just given our raw capabilities, you would expect that we’ll get some meaningful clients there.”

Demchak added that PNC would enable its clients “in the very near term” to use crypto and would likely bepart of an industry-led stablecoin.

Institutional adoption of digital assets like cryptocurrencies and tokenized securities is increasingly seen as inevitable, though risk remains an obstacle, PYMNTS reported in May.