Coinbase, a larger U.S. company that helps people buy, sell, and store cryptocurrencies, has expanded its loan service. The new service now allows more kinds of crypto to be used as collateral. Collateral is something you pledge to secure a loan. If you cannot pay back the loan, the lender can take the collateral. In simple words, you can borrow money by using your crypto instead of selling it. The new assets allowed are Ripple’s XRP and Cardano’s ADA. The service is now available across most of the United States, but not in New York State yet.
What is Coinbase Borrow? Coinbase Borrow is the name of the loan product. Coinbase launched this borrowing service in 2021. It helped people borrow money by pledging their crypto as collateral instead of selling their crypto. In other words, you could keep your coins but still get cash now. This can help with big spending or important decisions without missing out on potential price increases in your crypto.
Two years after its initial launch, Coinbase Borrow was stopped. It was not available for some time. At the start of 2025, the service came back. This restart gave users a new chance to access cash tied to their crypto holdings without selling them.
How much could you borrow before the expansion? Before Coinbase expanded the list of assets, users could borrow up to $5 million in the digital dollar USDC against Bitcoin (BTC). They could also borrow up to $1 million in USDC against Ethereum (ETH). USDC is a digital dollar-like coin that is designed to stay close to one real U.S. dollar. It is a type of stablecoin—a crypto coin that tries to keep its value steady rather than jumping up and down. If you want to know more, you can read about USDC, and what stablecoins are, on their pages.
Now Coinbase is expanding the service to include additional assets: XRP, ADA, Dogecoin (DOGE), and Litecoin (LTC). In other words, people can borrow money using these coins as their collateral instead of selling them. This keeps the crypto in their own wallets while still giving them access to cash when needed.
In an official announcement, Coinbase said the new option lets people unlock the value of their crypto holdings without giving up their position. The message described a practical example: you can borrow up to $100,000 in USDC against your tokens instantly, without selling your crypto. The service is available in the United States, but New York is excluded for now. In short, people in many states can use this service, while residents of New York cannot yet.
Why does Coinbase do this? A big and well-known exchange like Coinbase can influence how people think about crypto. When a large platform adds more options, it can make those assets easier to use. This can improve confidence among buyers and sellers and may help with the prices of the supported coins. In this case, XRP, ADA, DOGE, and LTC received attention because Coinbase is supporting them for loans. However, market prices in the broader crypto market were weak at the time, and the four coins continued to trade lower as part of a larger downward trend in many assets.
Experts often watch for price changes after a company lists a new asset or announces plans to list one. In some past cases, Coinbase has helped certain tokens rise in price after such announcements. Last summer, Coinbase listed several tokens on its roadmap, including SPX6900 (SPX), AWE Network (AWE), Dolomite (DOLO), Flock (FLOCK), and Solayer (LAYER). Some of these assets moved higher by noticeable amounts after the news. But the market is not always predictable. Sometimes, even after a listing announcement, prices can fall or stay flat if the overall market stays weak.
On the other hand, there are also times when Coinbase changes or ends support for certain coins. When that happens, some tokens see sharp price declines. For example, toward the end of last year, Muse DAO (MUSE), League of Kingdoms Arena (LOKA), and Wrapped Centrifuge (WCFG) fell a lot after Coinbase stopped trading them. This shows that changes at major exchanges can have real effects on prices, so investors watch these moves closely.
What else is new on Coinbase? Coinbase has been active in adding more trading options for its users. Earlier in the month, it announced that people can buy, sell, convert, send, receive, or store several new assets. These include RaveDAO (RAVE), Walrus (WAL), AZTEC (AZTEC), and Espresso (ESP). All of these assets are now available on Coinbase’s official website and its mobile app, which makes it easy for people to manage their crypto.
After the news, some of these assets moved in price. WAL, AZTEC, and ESP initially rose in price, but then moved lower in many cases. RAVE, however, showed stronger momentum, continuing to rise and trading around $0.44 per coin as of the latest data from CoinGecko, which is about a 25% weekly increase. This shows that Coinbase’s announcements can create short-term price shifts for different tokens, depending on market conditions and investor interest.
What does this mean for everyday users? For people who already hold XRP or ADA or other supported tokens, the new option means they have another way to access cash without selling their coins. If the value of their crypto falls, they should be aware that loans using crypto as collateral carry risk. If the value of the crypto drops significantly, the lender might require the borrower to add more collateral or to repay part of the loan. This process helps protect the lender from losing money when prices move quickly in the market. In simple words, borrowing with crypto as collateral can be helpful, but it also has risks if the price of the crypto changes a lot.
Coinbase’s ongoing activity shows that the company is trying to make crypto more useful in everyday life. It is clear that Coinbase wants to offer various ways for people to manage and use their crypto holdings. Whether through new loan options or additional trading assets, the goal seems to be to make it easier for people to use crypto without always buying and selling to meet needs. For beginners, this can sound exciting. For experienced investors, it may mean rethinking strategies and learning how different services work with the changing regulations and market conditions.
As always, people should do their own research and consider their own financial situation before using any loan product. Crypto lending involves risk, costs, and the possibility of losing part or all of the collateral if prices move unfavorably. Staying informed about the terms, limits, and available assets is important. It also helps to understand how these new services fit with a person’s long-term goals and risk tolerance.
Glossary and quick definitions (with links) Below are short explanations of some terms that appear in this article. If you want to read more, you can click the links to go to the related pages on Wikipedia. These links help explain each term in plain language.
- Coinbase – A large U.S. company that runs a cryptocurrency exchange. It helps people buy, sell, and store digital money. Coinbase.
- XRP – A digital coin used on the XRP Ledger. It is the main token for fast money transfers and other digital trading. XRP Ledger.
- Cardano (ADA) – A public, decentralized blockchain platform that uses the currency ADA and works with a proof-of-stake system called Ouroboros. Cardano.
- Dogecoin – A cryptocurrency that started as a joke based on a dog meme but is now traded widely. Dogecoin.
- Litecoin – A cryptocurrency created to be a faster version of Bitcoin, using a different mining method. Litecoin.
- USDC – A type of cryptocurrency designed to stay close to the value of one U.S. dollar (a stablecoin). It is used in some crypto loans and payments. USD Coin (USDC).
In summary, Coinbase is trying new things to help people use crypto more easily. By expanding loan options and adding more assets, they give people more choices. Investors should pay attention to changes in service terms, available assets, and price movements after announcements. The crypto market can be unpredictable, and it is important to understand the risks and how a new service might affect prices and personal financial plans.
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