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Coinbase is expanding services for banks and other institutional clients as traditional financial firms add digital-asset offerings. Coinbase Institutional head Liz Martin said prime brokerage is among the company’s fastest-growing areas; the report also describes new USDC custody for Samsung Wallet and a completed Deribit integration. The scale of demand and the commercial impact of these initiatives are not yet clear.
Coinbase is expanding services for banks and other traditional financial firms as those institutions develop cryptocurrency offerings, with the company reporting rapid growth in its prime brokerage business. Liz Martin, head of Coinbase Institutional, described the growth in an interview with Bloomberg News on Thursday, October 8, according to PYMNTS. The shift gives Coinbase a role both as a provider of trading services and as infrastructure for firms entering digital assets.
Martin said Coinbase is supporting traditional financial firms as they build services involving digital assets, while also strengthening its own institutional offerings. Prime brokerage can combine services such as custody, trading, financing and settlement. Bloomberg News, as cited by PYMNTS, reported that other crypto firms have also been building out prime brokerage services for banks.
Coinbase announced Thursday that it would custody Circle’s USDC stablecoin balances in Samsung Wallet through Coinbase Prime. USDC is set to become the wallet’s default dollar stablecoin, and a U.S. launch is expected before the end of October, Bloomberg reported. That timing is an expectation, not confirmation that the service has launched.
Coinbase also said this week that it had finalized its integration of Deribit and would soon connect its U.S. and international crypto-derivatives markets in one liquidity pool. Coinbase agreed to acquire Deribit last year for approximately $2.9 billion, according to the supplied report. The combined liquidity pool was described as forthcoming; the report did not give a launch date or operational details.
Coinbase’s Role in Bank Crypto Services
The development highlights a business opportunity for Coinbase beyond serving customers directly: banks entering crypto may need firms to provide custody, trading access and related infrastructure. If that institutional activity grows, Coinbase could earn business by supplying services even as traditional financial firms build offerings of their own. The report does not provide revenue figures or quantify how much of Coinbase’s growth comes from bank clients.
Martin said Coinbase sees its trading and infrastructure roles as compatible. That view matters because Coinbase may serve institutions that also compete with it for customers or financial activity. The company’s stated rationale is that both sides benefit from broader institutional use of crypto and from financial services moving onto blockchain networks; that is a company executive’s assessment, not independent evidence of future demand.
There is also a gap between institutional interest and demonstrated use across businesses. PYMNTS cited research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland indicating that companies often remain satisfied with current payment methods and do not see clear economic benefits from stablecoins. Separate PYMNTS Intelligence research found that 42% of middle-market companies had discussed, tested or used stablecoins, while 13% were actually using them. Those figures describe different levels of engagement, not broad production adoption.
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Banks Build Digital-Asset Offerings
The report describes a growing set of traditional financial institutions offering or planning digital-asset services. BNY, DBS Bank and U.S. Bank provide cryptocurrency custody, while Deutsche Bank recently announced plans to enter the space, according to the source material. Custody is one part of institutional crypto services; brokerage and infrastructure providers can also support trading, financing and settlement.
Coinbase’s position combines these institutional services with its own trading business. Martin said traditional finance and crypto firms are responding to the same trend: institutional adoption and interest in placing financial services on-chain. Separately, the planned Samsung Wallet arrangement and Deribit integration show Coinbase pursuing stablecoin distribution and derivatives-market connectivity. These initiatives are reported developments, but their eventual usage and financial returns have not been established.
Demand and Launch Details Remain Open
The report does not quantify prime brokerage growth, identify the number of bank clients using Coinbase infrastructure, or explain how much the business contributes to company revenue. Martin’s description of rapid growth is a company executive’s statement, and no comparison period or underlying figures were supplied.
It is also unclear whether Samsung Wallet’s U.S. service will launch on the expected schedule, how many users or transactions it may involve, and what commercial terms govern Coinbase’s custody role. Coinbase said it would soon connect its U.S. and international derivatives markets, but the source does not specify when the shared liquidity pool will be available. More broadly, the cited corporate-adoption research suggests interest does not necessarily translate into routine stablecoin use.
Samsung and Deribit Milestones Ahead
The next stated milestone is the expected U.S. launch of USDC in Samsung Wallet before the end of October 2026, according to Bloomberg News as cited by PYMNTS. Coinbase said it would soon link its U.S. and international derivatives markets following the Deribit integration, but did not provide a date in the source material.
Further evidence of the business’s trajectory would include disclosed institutional-client activity, measurable use of the Samsung Wallet stablecoin service, and details on when the derivatives markets begin sharing liquidity. Until those details emerge, the report establishes Coinbase’s plans and Martin’s account of growth, but not the scale or financial outcome of the expansion.
Key Questions
What is Coinbase expanding?
Coinbase is expanding services for banks and other institutional clients, including prime brokerage and infrastructure for digital-asset activity. The report does not give a detailed list of new bank contracts.
What did Coinbase announce for Samsung Wallet?
Coinbase said it would custody Circle’s USDC balances in Samsung Wallet through Coinbase Prime. Bloomberg News, as cited by PYMNTS, reported that USDC would be the wallet’s default dollar stablecoin, with a U.S. launch expected before the end of October 2026.
What is changing with Deribit?
Coinbase said it had finalized the Deribit integration and would soon connect its U.S. and international crypto-derivatives markets in one liquidity pool. The report gives no date for that connection to go live.
Does the report show that companies widely use stablecoins?
No. PYMNTS cited research finding that 42% of middle-market companies had discussed, tested or used stablecoins, while 13% were actually using them. The figures distinguish general engagement from active use and do not establish widespread corporate adoption.
Source: rss
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