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The Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange has launched a crypto lending service for institutional investors in the United States. The move is apparently aimed at making the most of the massive failures in the cryptocurrency lending market. It follows the stoppage of fresh loan issuance on Coinbase Borrow in May 2023.
The crypto lending service will be handled by Coinbase Prime, a new institutional-grade crypto lending platform, designed purely for American investors. The platform will act as a full-service prime brokerage platform allowing institutions to execute trades and maintain assets.
Crypto lending on Coinbase for US institutions
Institutions will now have the opportunity to lend crypto assets to Coinbase. In a press release announcing the crypto lending service, the crypto exchange stated:
“With this service, institutions can choose to lend digital assets to Coinbase under standardized terms in a product that qualifies for a Regulation D exemption.”
Since the initial sale that took place on August 28, clients have already put $57 million into the loan program, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. By September 1st, the offering had attracted five investors.
Coinbase Prime will be run by Coinbase Credit, the same organization that oversees Coinbase Borrow and users will be able to receive up to $1 million using Bitcoin (BTC) collateral.
Putting up a strong fight amid regulatory pressure
The cryptocurrency exchange is seeking to take advantage of the gap within the crypto lending market seeing that the sector experienced a severe crisis, with well-known firms like BlockFi, Celsius, and Genesis Global failing due to a lack of liquidity in 2022.
The launch of Coinbase Prime, however, follows the US SEC’s months-long investigation into the exchange’s alleged offering and sale of unregistered securities in relation to the company’s crypto-staking services, which allow customers to receive returns on handing the platform their cryptocurrency.
The exchange vehemently disagreed with any claims that its staking services were securities in response to the SEC’s accusations. As a result, the exchange was forced to suspend its staking service in California, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Wisconsin while the legal process was ongoing.
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