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- Coinbase has expanded its USDC borrowing product to the UK, allowing users to borrow against Bitcoin, Ether, and cbETH.
- The service uses Morpho smart contracts on Base, with variable rates and near-instant loan disbursement into Coinbase accounts.
Coinbase brings it USDC borrow product to the UK, giving local users a way to unlock liquidity from cryptocurrency holdings without selling them directly.
Exchange He said The service initially supports warranties in Bitcoin, ether and cbETH, Coinbase’s proprietary wrapped ether product. Once pledged, these assets are transferred on-chain to the Morpho smart contract and remain there until the loan is repaid.
Coinbase is delving into cryptocurrency-backed borrowing
The mechanics are fairly simple, at least on the user’s part. Customers can open the Borrow section of the Coinbase app, choose the assets they want to post as collateral, and select the amount of USDC they want to receive. According to Coinbase, Morpho then distributes the loan into the user’s Coinbase account within seconds.
From there, the borrowed USDC can be converted into British pounds or transferred elsewhere. This is important because the product is not framed as a niche DeFi feature hidden behind additional steps. Coinbase wants to look like a regular financial instrument integrated into the app itself.
For cryptocurrency users, this solves a familiar problem. Borrowing against Bitcoin or Ether allows them to access cash or stablecoin liquidity while keeping market exposure intact.
There is Morpho and Base at the bottom of the product
The infrastructure behind the service is just as important as the front-end flow. Coinbase said the borrowing feature runs through Morpho, with interest rates automatically determined by market conditions rather than manually set by the exchange.
These rates are variable and constantly updated, changing every few seconds with each block produced on Base, Coinbase Layer 2 network. This means that the cost of borrowing can move quickly depending on demand and available liquidity.
The offering also shows how Coinbase continues to integrate onchain lending infrastructure into its suite of retail products without requiring users to navigate DeFi directly. Morpho handles the lending logic, Base provides the settlement layer, and Coinbase maintains the customer relationship in its own application. For the company, this combination is increasingly becoming the model.
