Coinbase brings back the stablecoin bootstrap fund to expand USDC liquidity

Source Cryptopolitan

Coinbase is reopening its revamped Stablecoin Bootstrap Fund for the first time in nearly six years, aiming to boost stablecoin liquidity across decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.

Initially, the fund will provide liquidity to Aave, Morpho, Kamino, and Jupiter, with Coinbase Asset Management overseeing the program. It will supply liquidity in USDC and EURC on behalf of Circle, with plans to add other stablecoins.

According to Coinbase’s chief business officer, Shan Aggarwal, the fund’s purpose is to “deploy capital in on-chain protocols to ensure sufficient liquidity for their unique use cases.” The total size of the fund remains undisclosed.

The initial focus is on major DeFi platforms: Aave and Morpho on Ethereum, known for lending and borrowing, and Kamino and Jupiter on Solana, recognized for liquidity provision and trade aggregation.

In a statement to CNBC, Coinbase emphasized that these moves are part of a long-term strategy to guarantee ongoing USDC availability for both established and emerging networks. This effort aims to lower borrowing costs, minimize trading slippage, and support protocol growth.

It also revealed that the token is set to expand to new projects. This also includes protocols still in the pre-launch stage, with a high likelihood of gaining good adoption.

Coinbase builds on 2019’s success

Coinbase has been leveraging its balance sheet to supercharge the growing DeFi ecosystem. This new fund follows its first Stablecoin Bootstrap Fund, launched in 2019. American stablecoin saw a launch to seed liquidity for the USDC when it was still new to the open, decentralized markets.

This was simple but very effective in the first phase. Compound, a crypto-based lending and borrowing platform, received $1 million in investment from Coinbase, with another $1 million going to dYdX, a derivatives trading venue. There were no grants; they were working capital redeployed to protocol liquidity pools to lower borrowing costs and speed up trade.

The effort didn’t stop there as last year, Coinbase even diversified beyond IRL companies by including Uniswap (one of the biggest decentralized exchanges) and PoolTogether (a no-loss savings game rooted in the DeFi concept) in the fund.

The $1.1 million Binance Balance Injection process was a further onchain staining of USDC utility in everyday activity. The results were significant. These early liquidity injections helped USDC become a fundamental store of value and vehicle currency throughout DeFi. By guaranteeing that traders and borrowers could always access USDC with frictionless, stable rates, this enabled significant trust and adoption in the fund.

Today, USDC has evolved into a multi-chain powerhouse. It operates across all the previously mentioned ecosystems and Coinbase’s Layer 2 network, processing billions in daily transactions. Integrated into thousands of smart contracts, it underpins borrowing markets with several billion dollars locked at any given time.

It is to be expected, though; Coinbase stresses the importance of timing for the relaunch. “Onchain financial services are at an inflection point,” the company added. They argue that crypto natives — and those new to the space — are starting to choose borrowing, lending, and trading from stablecoin-powered DeFi tools over traditional options.

Coinbase aims to support emerging projects

In addition to more established names, Coinbase intends to support smaller or newer protocols. These projects often have difficulty gaining early liquidity, which may hinder their growth potential.

Coinbase said it is seeding the pools and lending markets by injecting them with stablecoins directly to give them a more robust start, at least on its platform. The method would further stabilize interest rates by improving predictability for users of DeFi products.

This purchase will allow us to put together even more resources to accelerate the interest and use we are seeing today,” Aggarwal said. He recommended that the liquidity support be token “agnostic” and decided on a protocol-by-protocol basis.

Get seen where it counts. Advertise in Cryptopolitan Research and reach crypto’s sharpest investors and builders.

Disclaimer: For information purposes only. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
placeholder
Meta's AI bill just hit $145 billion — and it issued a new share class to pay for itMeta reported record third-quarter revenue of $64.60 billion, up 26% from a year earlier, and raised full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $135-145 billion from $130-145 billion. To fund that build-out without touching Mark Zuckerberg's voting control, the company announced a 2-for-1 stock split that hands every Class A holder a new non-voting Class C share. Here are the four lines that matter, the peer group that is being re-rated alongside it, and the bull and bear cases.
Author  Irene Q.
Oct 22, Thu
Meta reported record third-quarter revenue of $64.60 billion, up 26% from a year earlier, and raised full-year 2026 capital expenditure guidance to $135-145 billion from $130-145 billion. To fund that build-out without touching Mark Zuckerberg's voting control, the company announced a 2-for-1 stock split that hands every Class A holder a new non-voting Class C share. Here are the four lines that matter, the peer group that is being re-rated alongside it, and the bull and bear cases.
placeholder
The Fed will sit still on October 28 — but 100 of 100 economists now expect a December hikeA Reuters poll run October 16-20 found 94 of 100 economists expecting the Fed to hold at 3.75-4.00% on October 28 — and all 100 expecting a hike in December, against less than half a month earlier. The market is close to the same price, with CME FedWatch at roughly 17% for October and 82.8% for December. With the Fed in blackout since October 17, here are the five dates that decide the rest of the year, what each one is priced for, and the two directions each can take.
Author  Irene Q.
Oct 22, Thu
A Reuters poll run October 16-20 found 94 of 100 economists expecting the Fed to hold at 3.75-4.00% on October 28 — and all 100 expecting a hike in December, against less than half a month earlier. The market is close to the same price, with CME FedWatch at roughly 17% for October and 82.8% for December. With the Fed in blackout since October 17, here are the five dates that decide the rest of the year, what each one is priced for, and the two directions each can take.
placeholder
Gold falls to two‑month low below $4,050 as oil spikesGold price (XAU/USD) falls to the lowest in more than two months near $4,025 during the early Asian session on Friday. The precious metal faces some selling pressure as escalating tensions in the Middle East send oil surging ahead of a Federal Reserve (Fed) policy meeting.
Author  FXStreet
Oct 23, Fri
Gold price (XAU/USD) falls to the lowest in more than two months near $4,025 during the early Asian session on Friday. The precious metal faces some selling pressure as escalating tensions in the Middle East send oil surging ahead of a Federal Reserve (Fed) policy meeting.
placeholder
Nasdaq closes at 26,008.86 — 8.9 points above 26,000, and the credit market never blinkedThe Nasdaq Composite fell 2.60% to 26,008.86 on October 22, its worst session since June, as Meta sank 6.98% on 2026 capex guidance of $135–145 billion. But the equal-weight S&P 500 rose 0.73%, high-yield credit was flat and 10-year yields fell 20 basis points. This was an AI de-rating, not a risk-off event — here is the transmission chain, the 29,000 / 28,200 levels and what would prove it wrong.
Author  Irene Q.
Oct 23, Fri
The Nasdaq Composite fell 2.60% to 26,008.86 on October 22, its worst session since June, as Meta sank 6.98% on 2026 capex guidance of $135–145 billion. But the equal-weight S&P 500 rose 0.73%, high-yield credit was flat and 10-year yields fell 20 basis points. This was an AI de-rating, not a risk-off event — here is the transmission chain, the 29,000 / 28,200 levels and what would prove it wrong.
placeholder
Brent tops $113 on Saudi supply risk — but the diesel line in the EIA report is the tellBrent's December contract settled at $113.17 on October 22, up 4.00% and the highest close since May 4, after Saudi Arabia restricted refined-product shipments. The same session's EIA report showed crude stocks down 3.06 million barrels and gasoline down 2.95 million — but distillates built 1.68 million. That single line decides whether $113 holds: here are the data, the 108.8 / 114.0 / 119.3 levels and the two scenarios.
Author  Irene Q.
Oct 23, Fri
Brent's December contract settled at $113.17 on October 22, up 4.00% and the highest close since May 4, after Saudi Arabia restricted refined-product shipments. The same session's EIA report showed crude stocks down 3.06 million barrels and gasoline down 2.95 million — but distillates built 1.68 million. That single line decides whether $113 holds: here are the data, the 108.8 / 114.0 / 119.3 levels and the two scenarios.
goTop
quote