Coinbase Ending USDC Rewards for Free Users, Will Only Be for Paid Members

Crypto speech Coinbase volition halt paying USDC rewards to non-paying customers adjacent week, confirming to Decrypt connected Thursday that lone Coinbase One premium subscribers volition beryllium eligible to gain 4% connected their stablecoin holdings.

The speech archetypal made the announcement successful an email sent to Coinbase customers connected Thursday, saying the alteration volition instrumentality effect connected December 15. A Coinbase spokesperson confirmed that USDC rewards are present a member-exclusive payment of Coinbase One.

"Coinbase One allows you to gain 10x the mean savings complaint successful the U.S. with uncapped net and nary minimum balance," they said, noting that different benefits—like nary trading fees—are besides bundled successful with the $4.99/month subscription fee.

Coinbase's USDC rewards programme has ever had a adaptable rate. For example, successful July, close aft the GENIUS Act was signed into law, the speech was paying up to 4.1% connected USDC balances held connected its platform. There's ever been an inducement for Coinbase One users, though. In the aforesaid announcement, the speech advertised that subscribers would gain 4.5% connected USDC.

When Coinbase reported its Q3 net successful October, the institution said users had $9 cardinal successful USDC connected the platform. That's a 90% summation from the aforesaid clip past year, according to its SEC filing, which the institution attributed to "primarily to our USDC rewards program, combined with deeper integration of USDC crossed our products."

The institution besides said its stablecoin gross accrued by $107.1 cardinal successful Q3, "due to higher mean USDC balances held successful Coinbase products, connected which we gain the immense bulk of the involvement connected the associated reserves."

The level has besides been advertizing a "System Update livestream" connected December 17, but didn't stock immoderate authoritative details. Following leaks of evident prediction marketplace and tokenized banal trading integrations successful November, a Coinbase rep pointed Decrypt towards a teaser for the livestream.

Coinbase Teases 'New Era' Amid Prediction Market, Stock Trading Leaks

Stablecoin issuers similar Circle mint integer tokens, USDC, successful speech for U.S. dollars. To guarantee each USDC token tin beryllium redeemed for cash, Circle maintains its reserves successful currency and cash-like vehicles, similar short-dated U.S. Treasuries and overnight U.S. Treasury repurchase agreements. But that means the involvement earned connected those reserves fluctuates erstwhile the Federal Reserve adjusts its people rates.

Just yesterday, the Federal Reserve approved a 3rd 0.25% benchmark involvement complaint chopped for the year, dropping its people complaint to a scope of 3.5% to 3.75%. Investors were already worrying past period that Fed complaint cuts would straight interaction the involvement the institution earns connected its $78.5 cardinal reserves.