On October 16, Marqeta and Coinbase said they are expanding an existing relationship so Marqeta’s business customers can issue payment cards that draw on stablecoin balances. A cardholder could then spend dollar-pegged crypto at the merchants that accept ordinary card payments, with the conversion from stablecoin to fiat handled automatically rather than through a separate sell step.
The two companies split the work along clear lines. Coinbase, a regulated exchange and stablecoin issuer, will custody the stablecoin balances and manage the conversion between digital assets and fiat. Its Base blockchain supplies the on-chain settlement layer. Marqeta, a card-issuing platform that processed nearly $400 billion in annual payments volume in 2025 and is certified to operate in more than 40 countries, will issue the cards, handle payment processing, and manage the bank and card-network relationships. Businesses that take part would be able to fund their card programs at any hour, while cardholders could spend from a stablecoin balance at the millions of merchants that accept cards worldwide.
Why the structure matters
The significance lies in the shape of the deal rather than its novelty. Marqeta already issues crypto-backed cards for Coinbase, so the companies are not starting from scratch. What is new is that the arrangement targets stablecoin-funded spending specifically and is offered to crypto-native businesses and traditional firms alike. A bank, fintech, or retailer that wants a digital-dollar card product can reach for a single stack: custody, conversion, and settlement from Coinbase, with issuance and processing from Marqeta, instead of assembling the payment rails itself.
The split also separates two kinds of work. Coinbase takes on custody and the digital-asset side of the transaction, while Marqeta concentrates on the card network, bank relationships, and processing that a card program cannot run without.
The move fits a broader shift in how stablecoins are used, away from sitting as collateral on trading venues and toward everyday payments. Coinbase’s head of infrastructure products, Alec Lovett, described the deal as combining Coinbase’s stablecoin payment rails with Marqeta’s issuing and processing capabilities. Marqeta’s chief strategy officer, Anthony Peculic, said Coinbase brings scale and breadth of infrastructure for the company’s enterprise customers.
What the announcement leaves open
The release is forward-looking rather than a launch notice. It says the companies will enable businesses to issue stablecoin-backed cards but does not name a first customer, a go-live date, or the stablecoins the cards would support. Marqeta’s standard disclaimer notes that actual results may differ from expectations. Those gaps leave practical questions unanswered: which jurisdictions the cards reach first, whether fees and limits differ from existing card products, and how quickly enterprises sign on. Until a first program is named, the announcement is best read as a statement of capability rather than a product consumers can order today.
The most concrete signal is structural. Custody, conversion, and settlement are now bundled into one Coinbase-backed stack that Marqeta can offer to its enterprise base. That is a meaningful step even before the first card ships, and it is the part of the announcement that can be measured against the companies’ public statements rather than against future results.
Adapted from What Are Stablecoin Cards? Coinbase and Marqeta Expand Enterprise Payments.