Coinbase has introduced fixed-rate USDC loans secured by cbBTC, giving customers a choice between predictable repayment costs and its existing variable-rate borrowing service.
The launch follows more than $1.4bn in outstanding loans and almost $3bn in collateral through Coinbase’s variable-rate product. The new fixed-rate markets operate on Base through Morpho Midnight, a lending protocol offering set interest rates and maturities.
Borrowers pledge cbBTC and receive USDC without selling their bitcoin exposure. The interest rate and repayment date are established when an onchain offer is accepted. Coinbase currently offers maturities at the end of the current month or the following month. A company spokesperson said “End of Month” means the last Friday of the selected month.
The borrower must repay the USDC by the agreed deadline. If they do not, the lender can claim the cbBTC used as collateral.
Coinbase provides the customer interface, while Morpho supplies the lending infrastructure and Base processes the transactions. Lenders submit offers through an onchain order book, allowing borrowers to choose from available rates and maturity dates.
“Coinbase Borrow gives our customers access to liquidity without having to sell their assets, and fixed-rate borrowing gives them even greater choice over how they manage that credit,” said Jacob Frantz, Coinbase’s yield and investments product lead.
Morpho introduced Midnight in July as a fixed-rate, fixed-term protocol. Its intent-based, peer-to-peer design allows borrowers and lenders to specify conditions including the interest rate, maturity and counterparty requirements, rather than placing all users into a pool with a rate that changes automatically.
Lenders can keep their capital in variable-rate markets while waiting for a fixed-rate offer to be accepted. Once a match is made, the required liquidity moves into the loan.
Coinbase’s variable-rate service continues to run through Morpho Blue, where rates change as the amount of USDC supplied and borrowed fluctuates. Across all integrations, Morpho Blue has about $5.2bn in outstanding loans and $16bn in deposits. Midnight had roughly $30m in deposits during its initial rollout.
Data from Sep. 18 showed that five Coinbase stock-backed lending markets had attracted $54,652 in USDC borrowing, all through variable-rate pools. Those assets also had 95 Midnight markets with different maturity dates, but none had outstanding fixed-rate loans at that time. The markets included tokens linked to Apple, Alphabet, Nvidia, Meta and privately held SpaceX.
For eligible US customers, Coinbase’s Morpho-based lending service was first introduced across most states in 2025, excluding New York. Bitcoin pledged by a customer is converted into cbBTC and transferred to a Morpho smart contract on Base. Coinbase describes cbBTC as an ERC-20 token backed one-for-one by bitcoin held in its custody.
Fixed-rate borrowing removes uncertainty over interest costs, but collateral risk remains. Morpho applies loan-to-value limits, and falling bitcoin prices can trigger liquidation if debt exceeds the permitted level.
Coinbase also allows customers to lend USDC through Morpho. In September, it expanded that service to Brazil through a Steakhouse Financial-curated vault. The variable-return product had attracted nearly $500m in deposits, with no fixed lock-up period.
Separately, Coinbase has begun offering eligible UK customers access to almost 4,000 US stocks, including fractional shares and purchases funded with pounds or USDC. In the US, its Coinbase Capital Markets broker-dealer has opened retail access to IPOs, beginning with smart-ring maker Oura. Customers can request shares before trading starts, but may receive a full allocation, a partial allocation or none.
