Coinbase, Citi Launch Two-Way Stablecoin Payments — SkimNews
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- Coinbase plugged its payments infrastructure into Spring by Citi, letting Citi's institutional merchant clients accept stablecoins at checkout, with Coinbase converting the tokens to fiat and Citi settling the funds as bank of record.
- Coinbase is using Citi's Virtual Account Wallet—part of the bank's banking-as-a-service business—to power Coinbase Virtual Accounts, which automatically convert incoming fiat like U.S. dollars into stablecoins.
- Both features launch first in the U.S., targeting an addressable market of more than 150 million stablecoin holders worldwide, with more capabilities planned in the coming months.
- The expansion builds on a Citi-Coinbase partnership first announced in October 2025 covering fiat pay-ins and payouts for institutional clients.
- Citi announced plans in August to add Bitcoin custody to its Custody+ suite, part of its broader digital-asset push, while Coinbase separately rolled out fixed-rate USDC loans against Bitcoin and tokenized stocks on Base.
Why it matters: Citi's institutional merchant clients now have a stablecoin payment rail without holding or managing digital assets themselves, while Coinbase gains access to Citi's regulated banking rails—both moves shift the firms from crypto experimentation toward infrastructure for everyday commerce across the 150 million-strong global stablecoin user base.
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