Coinbase, Moov to provide stablecoin infrastructure for US community banks

Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase partnered with financial platform Moov to bring stablecoin infrastructure to more than 1,000 community banks and credit unions that are part of Moov’s customer base.

The partnership will combine Coinbase’s regulated digital asset infrastructure and Moov’s payments platform to offer stablecoin payment acceptance, settlement and real-time funding, according to a Thursday announcement.

The infrastructure will support use cases such as consumer stablecoin payments, merchant settlement and payouts. It will also offer businesses and merchants access to Coinbase custodial accounts.

Community banks in the US typically have less than $10 billion in total assets and include state chartered institutions as well as savings and loan holding companies.

The announcement comes as some of the largest US banks are experimenting with stablecoin infrastructure. On Wednesday, U.S. Bank, the fifth-largest commercial bank in the US, completed a live cross-border payment using its proprietary USBDC stablecoin on the Stellar blockchain. 

Earlier this month, 21 financial institutions, including Bank of America, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and UBS, announced plans to form a company to issue stablecoins, including a US dollar-denominated stablecoin in the first half of 2027. 

Non-bank competitors are entering the stablecoin niche. In August, Western Union partnered with stablecoin infrastructure provider Rain to launch a digital wallet and Visa-branded card that enables users to hold and spend a US dollar-backed stablecoin.

Related: Mastercard, Borderless test shared identity checks for stablecoin transfers