PNC Bank has partnered with Coinbase to offer crypto services to its banking clients, institutional investors, and corporate treasurers, using Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) platform.
The collaboration enables PNC clients to securely buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies while Coinbase gains access to PNC’s banking services.
The partnership follows the passage of the GENIUS Act, which brings regulatory clarity to stablecoins and is prompting traditional banks like PNC and JPMorgan to explore crypto-powered financial products.
PNC Bank announced it has teamed up with crypto exchange platform and wallet Coinbase to expand access to digital asset solutions for its banking clients, institutional investors, and corporate treasurers exploring onchain settlement.
Under the agreement, PNC will also provide banking services to Coinbase. The $557 billion bank will leverage Coinbase’s Crypto-as-a-Service (CaaS) platform to offer secure, scalable crypto access for its clients. With CaaS, Coinbase provides the underlying crypto infrastructure while allowing PNC to maintain full control over the client experience, brand, and compliance framework. At launch, PNC’s new crypto offering will allow clients to buy, hold, and sell cryptocurrencies.
“PNC is a market leader in delivering best-in-class products for their clients,” said Head of Coinbase Institutional Brett Tejpaul. “We’re thrilled to support their entry into the digital asset market with our leading Crypto-as-a-Service platform, which provides PNC with a powerful set of tools to develop a scalable, high-growth business, built on a foundation of uncompromising security.”
Coinbase was founded in 2012 and has proved resilient in offering crypto capabilities that make it easy for people to engage with crypto assets by trading, staking, safekeeping, spending, and making global transfers. The company provides infrastructure for onchain activity and seeks to support builders who want to build onchain.
“Partnering with Coinbase accelerates our ability to bring innovative, crypto financial solutions to our clients,” said PNC Chairman and CEO William S. Demchak. “We will also provide PNC’s best-in-class banking services to Coinbase. This collaboration enables us to meet growing demand for secure and streamlined access to digital assets on PNC’s trusted platform.”
Until recently, Coinbase was under fire from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for allegedly operating as an unregistered securities exchange. The company fired back, engaging in a legal battle by suing the SEC and FDIC over the need for more regulatory transparency in crypto. In February, Coinbase and the SEC jointly filed to dismiss the enforcement action and end the lawsuit. The lawsuit with the FDIC, however, is still ongoing, as the FDIC is still refusing to fully comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests concerning “pause letters” sent to banks.
Despite historical and present legal battles, Coinbase’s tenacity may soon pay off. The company will likely see a boost from the recently passed GENIUS Act as it creates regulatory clarity and certainty around stablecoins. The Act will even go as far as allowing Coinbase to apply for a banking license, which would enable Coinbase to obtain Fed master accounts and connect directly to Fedwire.
Notably, PNC isn’t the first traditional bank to make moves in the crypto segment after the passage of the GENIUS Act last week. The Financial Times reported this morning that JPMorgan is considering offering loans backed by clients’ Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings. If JPMorgan follows through, its clients could leverage their crypto holdings as collateral for cash loans, which would offer them liquidity without requiring them to sell their digital assets. The GENIUS Act’s clear federal framework for stablecoins may be giving traditional banks like PNC and JPMorgan new confidence to enter the crypto arena with clarity on compliance and risk boundaries.
Photo by RDNE Stock project
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