Share this article
Coinbase to Stop Issuing New Loans Via Coinbase Borrow
May 10 is the final day customers will be allowed to take out new loans through the program.
Updated May 9, 2023, 4:13 a.m. Published May 4, 2023, 12:38 a.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Coinbase Borrow’s days are numbered.
Customers of the U.S.-based exchange who used the program – which allowed customers to borrow fiat loans up to $1 million against as much as 30% of their bitcoin holdings, with interest – received an email on Wednesday informing them that the last day to take out new loans would be May 10.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
Coinbase has been under extra scrutiny from regulators following crypto exchange FTX’s collapse, and is expecting an enforcement action from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over alleged securities violations.
However, the closure of Coinbase Borrow seems – at least for now – to be unconnected to any enforcement action. A person familiar with the matter told CoinDesk the closure of Coinbase Borrow had nothing to do with either pending or past troubles with the SEC.
When contacted by CoinDesk, a spokesperson for the exchange attributed the decision to reduced demand.
“We regularly evaluate our products to ensure we’re prioritizing the offerings that our customers care about most,” the spokesperson said. “Effective May 10, we will stop issuing new loans through Coinbase Borrow. There is no impact on customers’ outstanding loans, and no action is required from them at this time.”
Coinbase Borrow launched in November 2021 and was advertised as a way to get fiat loans quickly without needing to sell bitcoin, which could incur a taxable gain or loss.
More For You
Specialized AI detects 92% of real-world DeFi exploits
New research claims specialized AI dramatically outperforms general-purpose models at detecting exploited DeFi vulnerabilities.
What to know:
- A purpose-built AI security agent detected vulnerabilities in 92% of 90 exploited DeFi contracts ($96.8 million in exploit value), compared with 34% and $7.5 million for a baseline GPT-5.1-based coding agent running on the same underlying model.
- The gap came from domain-specific security methodology layered on top of the model, not differences in core AI capability, according to the report.
- The findings come as prior research from Anthropic and OpenAI shows AI agents can execute end-to-end smart contract exploits at low cost, accelerating concerns that offensive AI capabilities are scaling faster than defensive adoption.
Top Stories
