Coinbase is expanding its crypto lending business with a new product that lets customers borrow USDC against their Bitcoin at a fixed interest rate.
The exchange launched the fixed-rate, fixed-term loans through Morpho Midnight, with both the borrowing rate and repayment date determined when the loan is opened. The service operates on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network.
That differs from Coinbase’s existing Morpho Blue-powered loans, where interest rates fluctuate depending on lending and borrowing demand. Those variable-rate products have already grown to more than $1.4 billion in active loans backed by roughly $3 billion of collateral.
Coinbase Pushes Deeper Into Onchain Credit
Coinbase is currently offering fixed loans that mature either at the end of the current month or the following month, with “end of month” defined as the final Friday of the month. Rates are determined through supply and demand as lenders and borrowers submit offers through Morpho Midnight’s on-chain market.
The structure gives Bitcoin holders another way to access liquidity without selling their BTC. That can be particularly attractive to investors who want to keep their exposure to Bitcoin while getting dollar-denominated capital.
Morpho Midnight only launched on Base in July, which makes Coinbase one of its earliest large-scale integrations. Morpho says the protocol could eventually support credit products backed by assets beyond crypto, including tokenized stocks and other real-world assets.
The opportunity could be massive. The Bitcoin-backed credit market is estimated at roughly $16 billion, while research suggests it could grow considerably as crypto collateral becomes more integrated with traditional credit markets. A 2026 Protocol Theory survey of 1,244 crypto holders in the US and Australia also found that 88% would consider using a crypto-backed loan or credit product.
(Source: Protocol Theory)
COIN stock, however, showed little immediate reaction to the announcement. Coinbase shares closed Sept. 22 at $201.07, up just 0.01% for the session after trading between roughly $197 and $203. The stock was down about 1.7% to $197.60 in pre-market trading.
Coinbase stock price over the past month (Source: CoinCodex)
Still, COIN has recently strengthened alongside the wider crypto market. The stock was up about 16+% over the past month at Tuesday’s close.
