Coinbase Partners with Banks on Crypto and Stablecoin Pilot Projects

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong reportedly said Wednesday (Dec. 3) that his company is working with some of the biggest U.S. banks on pilot programs testing stablecoins, crypto custody and trading.

“The best banks are leaning into this as an opportunity,” Armstrong said at the New York Times DealBook Summit, CoinDesk reported Wednesday. “The ones who are fighting it are going to get left behind.”

Armstrong did not name the banks, according to the report.

Coinbase has announced some other collaborations with banks in recent months.

The company said in October that it planned to collaborate with Citi on digital asset payment capabilities for the bank’s clients, starting with its institutional clients and potentially expanding to its other global clients in the future.

“This collaboration is part of our broader mission to make digital assets a trusted and integral part of the global economy,” Coinbase said at the time in a blog post. “By working with Citi and other major banks, asset managers, payment service providers and other financial institutions, we’re building the infrastructure that the global economy needs to adopt and scale digital asset solutions.”

In July, Coinbase and JPMorganChase said they partnered to develop a feature that will enable customers to use Chase credit cards to fund their Coinbase accounts, making it easier for their mutual customers to buy cryptocurrency.

The companies said they also planned to add the ability to link Chase bank accounts to Coinbase wallets through JPMorgan’s API, and the ability to use points from Chase’s rewards program, Chase Ultimate Rewards, to fund their Coinbase account.

“Together, we are expanding choice and lowering barriers to entry for consumers to participate in the future of financial services on-chain,” Max Branzburg, head of consumer and business products at Coinbase, said at the time in a press release.

Also in July, Coinbase and PNC Bank teamed up to develop a solution that will allow the bank’s clients to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies.

The organizations said this project is part of a new partnership that also includes PNC adding other crypto financial solutions for its clients and providing select banking services to Coinbase.