Markets · Payments
Coinbase will hold the stablecoins, convert them to fiat and settle on Base, while Marqeta issues and processes the cards. Launch customers, coins, fees and timing are not disclosed.
Marqeta, which runs a card issuing platform for businesses, will let its business customers offer cards that spend from stablecoin balances, with Coinbase holding the coins and converting them to fiat currency (source 1). The tie-up gives companies without their own crypto plumbing a ready way to turn stablecoin holdings into ordinary card spending at merchants that already take cards.
For a fintech or brand that already issues cards through Marqeta, the practical change is that a stablecoin balance can now sit behind the card. The release says businesses will be able to "fund their programs 24/7," and cardholders will be able to spend at "millions of merchants that accept cards globally" (source 1).
Marqeta is an issuer-processor: it supplies the technology that creates cards and authorizes and processes each transaction, working through partner banks and card networks. Under the deal, Coinbase will hold the stablecoin balances in custody and handle conversion between digital assets and fiat (source 1). Settlement runs on Base, which the release calls Coinbase's blockchain (source 1).
Each company sticks to what it already does: Coinbase holds and converts the coins, Base settles the transactions, and Marqeta runs the cards.
| Party | Role, per the release |
|---|---|
| Coinbase | Custody of stablecoin balances; conversion between digital assets and fiat |
| Base | On-chain settlement infrastructure |
| Marqeta | Card issuance, payment processing, bank and network relationships |
Card programs need money in place to settle each purchase with the network. A stablecoin-backed card converts the holder's coins into fiat for that settlement, so the merchant receives ordinary currency while the cardholder spends from a crypto balance.
The deal builds on ties that already exist. Marqeta already issues Coinbase's own crypto-backed cards, and the new arrangement extends that relationship to Marqeta's wider customer base, both "crypto-native and non-crypto firms" (source 1).
"As we build out the complete stack for stablecoin-backed cards, expanding our relationship with Coinbase was a natural next step," said Anthony Peculic, Marqeta's chief strategy officer (source 1). Alec Lovett, Coinbase's head of infrastructure products, said the work will combine Coinbase's "stablecoin payment rails" with Marqeta's "issuing and processing capabilities" (source 1). Neither company has commented beyond the release.
Marqeta says its platform processed nearly $400 billion in annual payments volume in 2025 and is certified to operate in more than 40 countries (source 1).
In Le Coin's view, the significance is distribution. Marqeta already sits behind many branded card programs, so a business that wants a stablecoin card can add one through a provider it already uses, rather than assembling custody, conversion and settlement itself.
In Le Coin's view, the deal also puts Base in the settlement path of mainstream card programs. How much flows through it depends on the details the release leaves out, starting with which customers launch and where.
Holding the Corner.
Not financial advice.