Coinbase is back in lending. The Nasdaq-listed exchange has launched a fixed-rate loan backed by Bitcoin, allowing users to borrow USDC. The interest rate and repayment date are locked in at the time of borrowing, so you don’t have to worry about floating rates suddenly jumping mid-loan.
Previously, Coinbase’s similar product ran on Morpho Blue, where rates fluctuate with supply and demand—so when demand spikes, costs rise. The new approach uses Morpho Midnight, a decentralized, non-custodial fixed-rate, fixed-term lending protocol that went live in July this year. Settlements are conducted on Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer-2 network Base. According to its announcement, this is a step forward in shifting on-chain lending from a model dominated by floating rates, giving users greater certainty about costs and terms. The existing floating-rate products continue in parallel; currently there are more than $1.4 billion in active loans, with collateral close to $3.0 billion.
Fixed-rate Bitcoin-backed loans themselves aren’t new—Ledn and SATL Lending have been doing it for years. Coinbase’s difference is that it embeds a DeFi protocol into a mainstream, consumer-grade app and completes the process via on-chain mechanisms. On X, Morpho co-founder and CEO Paul Frambot said the partnership’s product has been very successful, and the next step is to expand into new loan types and use cases.
Why should you pay attention? The transmission chain is: major exchanges productize on-chain fixed-rate credit, reducing the uncertainty of borrowing dollars for coin holders. That could increase willingness to use Bitcoin as collateral, which in turn may affect stablecoin demand and the size of on-chain lending. But whether this truly boosts lending volumes—there’s currently no data to support that; all we can say is the direction is clear.
From a market perspective, the size of Bitcoin-backed credit is currently around $16 billion, and some estimates suggest it could reach $130 billion by 2030. A survey covering 1,244 coin holders in the U.S. and Australia conducted in February to March found that 88% of respondents said they would consider crypto-collateralized loans or credit products. These are potential demands, not realized incremental growth.
What to watch next: the actual lending volume of the new fixed-rate product, and whether it siphons off the outstanding balance of the original floating-rate loans.
#稳定币 #比特币 #DeFi $USDC $BTC
Previously, Coinbase’s similar product ran on Morpho Blue, where rates fluctuate with supply and demand—so when demand spikes, costs rise. The new approach uses Morpho Midnight, a decentralized, non-custodial fixed-rate, fixed-term lending protocol that went live in July this year. Settlements are conducted on Coinbase’s Ethereum Layer-2 network Base. According to its announcement, this is a step forward in shifting on-chain lending from a model dominated by floating rates, giving users greater certainty about costs and terms. The existing floating-rate products continue in parallel; currently there are more than $1.4 billion in active loans, with collateral close to $3.0 billion.
Fixed-rate Bitcoin-backed loans themselves aren’t new—Ledn and SATL Lending have been doing it for years. Coinbase’s difference is that it embeds a DeFi protocol into a mainstream, consumer-grade app and completes the process via on-chain mechanisms. On X, Morpho co-founder and CEO Paul Frambot said the partnership’s product has been very successful, and the next step is to expand into new loan types and use cases.
Why should you pay attention? The transmission chain is: major exchanges productize on-chain fixed-rate credit, reducing the uncertainty of borrowing dollars for coin holders. That could increase willingness to use Bitcoin as collateral, which in turn may affect stablecoin demand and the size of on-chain lending. But whether this truly boosts lending volumes—there’s currently no data to support that; all we can say is the direction is clear.
From a market perspective, the size of Bitcoin-backed credit is currently around $16 billion, and some estimates suggest it could reach $130 billion by 2030. A survey covering 1,244 coin holders in the U.S. and Australia conducted in February to March found that 88% of respondents said they would consider crypto-collateralized loans or credit products. These are potential demands, not realized incremental growth.
What to watch next: the actual lending volume of the new fixed-rate product, and whether it siphons off the outstanding balance of the original floating-rate loans.
#稳定币 #比特币 #DeFi $USDC $BTC