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Coinbase cancels crypto lending plans

CEO Brian Armstrong revealed last week that the SEC had warned it against pursuing the product.

Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong

Coinbase has canceled its crypto lending service.

Photo: Michael Short/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Coinbase has dropped plans for its crypto lending program after pushback from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The product, called Lend, had come under fire from the SEC, which deemed it a security. It was designed for users to earn interest by lending out their crypto assets.

In an update to its blog post on the program, Coinbase, now says it is not launching the service, which it called USDC APY.

"As we continue our work to seek regulatory clarity for the crypto industry as a whole, we've made the difficult decision not to launch the USDC APY program announced below," the company wrote. "We have also discontinued the waitlist for this program as we turn our work to what comes next."

Tomio Geron

Tomio Geron ( @tomiogeron) is a San Francisco-based reporter covering fintech. He was previously a reporter and editor at The Wall Street Journal, covering venture capital and startups. He was also as a staff writer at Forbes covering social media and venture capital, and edited the Midas List of top tech investors. He can be reached at tgeron@protocol.com or tgeron@protonmail.com.

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