Leading crypto exchange Coinbase announced earlier today that it will be offering its customers cash loans of up to 30% collateral against their Bitcoin holdings.
The U.S. based exchange, once celebrated for its strict coin approval policy has gone all out in recent years, after falling behind other leading exchanges such as Binance and Kraken.
With the addition of DeFi projects and several more altcoins to its exchange listing, and now getting into crypto lending, it appears like Coinbase is going all out to attract customers ahead of the expected bull run.
Coinbase Offering Customers 30% Cash Loans On Their Bitcoin Holdings
Coinbase announced in a blog post earlier today that they were extending their services and getting into crypto lending.
The announcement says Coinbase users in eligible U.S. states would be given the opportunity to lend up to 30% cash against their Bitcoin holdings.
Coinbase said it wants to give ‘customers even more control over their crypto investments while offering secure access to cash at the same time.’
Coinbase say anyone interested in taking out a loan should join a waitlist.
The expansion of its financial services comes on the back of customer feedback, which Coinbase say its customers’ main response was to be given the opportunity of freeing up liquidity without having to sell their Bitcoin stake.
And now with the new loan feature, users can free up cash for immediate expenses without having to sell their Bitcoin.
This will alleviate the need for some who might have needed to take out a high interest loan, and will also give them quicker access to cash than a traditional loan would take.
‘We hear from customers that they need cash for expenses like home renovations or car repairs,’ said Coinbase. ‘But they do not want to prematurely sell their crypto, or take out high-interest loans that could come with 20%+ APR.’
‘With portfolio-backed loans on Coinbase, customers can borrow cash quickly from their Coinbase accounts. No need to fill out a long application or go through a credit check. Customers can simply sign up with a few taps and get the cash in their accounts within 2–3 days.’
Coinbase Is Expanding Its Financial Offerings
Coinbase once had a strict policy, and still to this day has much fewer trading pairs than the likes of Binance or Kraken exchnages.
The Coinbase policy of old was so strict but rewarding for any crypto that was added to the exchanges holdings. Back in 2017, some of its new additions shot up in value just on the announcement that Coinbase would be adding it.
Now, it seems like Coinbase is trying to catch up to the bigger exchanges and lending platforms by adding more trading pairs, and extending its financial offerings.
Is Coinbase Selling Itself To The Devil?
Whenever Coinbase added what some would describe as a shitcoin, there was uproar from many in the crypto space who saw Coinbase as a Bitcoin exchange at first and then at the very least a few big altcoins.
But Coinbase is a business, and although we all have our own opinion as to what is a shitcoin and what isn’t, Coinbase is there to make money.
Whether all altcoins eventually die off or not, you can’t blame Coinbase for wanting to cash in on more than just Bitcoin.
The market will dictate what is and isn’t a shitcoin, and in the meantime Coinbase will offer its users more trading pairs and now cash loans.
Author: Tommy Limpitlaw
A Bitcoiner since 2017 and a Bitcoin Maximalist since 2018, Tommy is our main writer and editor at Bitcoin Maximalist. Other than researching and writing about Bitcoin, Tommy loves spending time with his family and supporting his beloved Leeds United.
