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Coinbase Revives Stablecoin Funding Program to Bolster DeFi Liquidity
The fund placements, managed by Coinbase's asset management arm, begin on Aave, Morpho, Kamino and Jupiter, with broader rollouts planned.
Aug 12, 2025, 4:58 p.m.
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What to know:
- Coinbase is reviving its Stablecoin Bootstrap Fund, first launched in 2019, to bolster stablecoin liquidity on decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
- The program first allocated funds in USDC and EURC stablecoins on platforms like Aave, Morpho, Kamino and Jupiter.
- The DeFi sector is rapidly growing, but market size is still below the 2021 peak.
Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) said on Tuesday it is reviving its Stablecoin Bootstrap Fund, aiming to boost stablecoin liquidity on decentralized finance (DeFi) markets.
The initiative will be managed by Coinbase Asset Management and begins with deployments on Aave, Morpho, Kamino and Jupiter, according to a blog post.
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The exchange first launched the program in 2019 to help protocols seed early trading pools for USDC stablecoin. That effort supported early platforms like Uniswap (UNI), and dYdX (DYDX) and helped spearhead USDC in the DeFi ecosystem, which is still the most widely used stablecoin in the sector.
In its new iteration, the initiative will allocate capital across both established and emerging protocols, aiming to ensure users can access stable yields and efficient markets.
While Coinbase has not disclosed the size of the fund or specific amounts for each deployment, a company spokesperson told CoinDesk it will test placements across multiple networks before scaling further. Currently, the fund provides capital in USDC and EURC, Circle's euro-pegged stablecoin, the company added.
Coinbase's move comes as the DeFi sector's growth is accelerating amid red-hot crypto markets and easing regulatory headwinds in the U.S. There are almost $200 billion of assets held across DeFi protocols collectively, nearly doubling since April but still below its 2021 peak, DefiLlama data shows.
Read more: Decentralized Finance and Tokenization Growth Still Disappoints: JPMorgan
AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy.
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Stablecoin volume reached $35 trillion in 2025 as illicit share stays below 0.5%
Even as sanctions-linked networks drove $141 billion in illicit stablecoin flows last year, TRM data shows the activity represents a fraction of total transaction volume.
What to know:
- Less than 0.5% of stablecoin transactions in 2025 were tied to illicit activity, even as total stablecoin transfer volume rose nearly 20% to at least $35 trillion.
- Illicit entities received $141 billion in stablecoins in 2025, more than half of it linked to the ruble-pegged A7A5 token, whose executives dispute claims that their operations are illegal.
- Stablecoins made up 86% of all illicit crypto flows in 2025, with sanctions-related networks such as the A7 ecosystem evolving into large, centralized cross-border financial systems.
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