Citi and Coinbase link banking rails for two-way stablecoin payments, newsletter says
In brief
- Citi corporate clients can let customers pay in stablecoins, according to Decrypt's Morning Minute newsletter.
- Coinbase converts the stablecoins to dollars, and Citi deposits them like any other payment.
- Companies building on Coinbase can open bank-like accounts powered by Citi's banking software.
- More than 150 million people worldwide hold stablecoins, Coinbase says, per Decrypt.
- LeoDex News did not see a Citi or Coinbase announcement of the service.
How the arrangement works
The setup, as described in Warner's newsletter, keeps the corporate client away from crypto entirely. The company doesn't hold a token. It doesn't open a crypto account either, and it never sees a wallet address (Coinbase handles the conversion into dollars behind the scenes, and Citi books the deposit the same way it books any other incoming payment).
It works both ways.
On the other side, companies building on Coinbase can open accounts that behave like bank accounts, powered by Citi's banking software. Dollars that come into those accounts get turned into stablecoins automatically. So Citi's customers get paid in stablecoins and receive dollars, while Coinbase's customers get paid in dollars and receive stablecoins. That's the full loop, and for the businesses involved the payment looks like any other deposit.
What's still unconfirmed
LeoDex News didn't see a Citi or Coinbase announcement of the service. Every product detail above comes from the Morning Minute newsletter, and Decrypt notes that the analysis and opinions in it are Warner's own and don't necessarily reflect the publication's views. We're treating the specifics as reported, not confirmed by either company.
The adoption argument
Coinbase says more than 150 million people worldwide hold stablecoins, a figure Decrypt cited in the newsletter. Warner wrote that somewhere in the plumbing, a stablecoin moves in seconds where a wire takes two days. He also predicted the number of holders will soon be in the billions.
Those are his views, not established outcomes.
What the newsletter does lay out is a structure where neither end of the payment has to touch crypto directly if it doesn't want to. A Citi client sees dollars. A Coinbase client sees stablecoins. Whether that model spreads beyond the companies described in the newsletter is something neither Citi nor Coinbase has addressed in any statement LeoDex News has seen.
Frequently asked questions
How does the Citi and Coinbase stablecoin payment service work?
According to Tyler Warner's Morning Minute newsletter in Decrypt, customers of large Citi corporate clients can pay in stablecoins. Coinbase converts those stablecoins into dollars behind the scenes, and Citi deposits the money like any other payment. The company never holds a token, opens a crypto account or sees a wallet address.
Does the service work in the other direction?
Yes, per the newsletter. Companies building on Coinbase can open accounts that behave like bank accounts, powered by Citi's banking software, and dollars coming into those accounts are converted into stablecoins automatically. Coinbase customers get paid in dollars and receive stablecoins.
How many people hold stablecoins?
Coinbase says more than 150 million people worldwide hold stablecoins, a figure cited in Decrypt's Morning Minute newsletter. Author Tyler Warner predicted the number will soon reach the billions, which is his own forecast rather than an established figure.
