Coinbase announces the restart of stablecoin fund guidance

On August 13th, The Block reported that Coinbase announced the relaunch of its Stablecoin Bootstrap Fund, aimed at enhancing stablecoin liquidity in the decentralized finance (DeFi) market. The program, managed by Coinbase Asset Management, will initially be implemented on AAVE, Morpho, Kamino, and Jupiter. The program, first launched in 2019, supported the USDC stablecoin and fueled the growth of early platforms such as Uniswap and Compound.

This new iteration will allocate capital to emerging protocols to ensure stable returns and efficient markets for users. While the specific size of the fund has not been disclosed, Coinbase stated that it will test configurations across multiple networks before further expansion.

The fund also currently provides funding in Circle's Euro-Pegged Stablecoin. The program will be managed by Coinbase Asset Management and will begin with deployments on AAVE, Morpho, Kamino, and Jupiter. The exchange first launched the program in 2019 to help protocols seed early trading pools for the USDC stablecoin.

This work supported early platforms such as Uniswap (Uni), Compound (Comp), and DyDX (DYDX), and helped spearhead USDC in the DeFi ecosystem (it remains the industry's most widely used stablecoin).

In its new iteration, the program will allocate capital across established and emerging protocols, aiming to ensure users can access stable yields and efficient markets. While Coinbase has not yet disclosed the size of each fund or specific amounts deployed, a company spokesperson told CoinDesk it will test placements across multiple networks before expanding further.

The company added that the fund currently provides funding in Circle's Euro-pegged stablecoin. Coinbase's move comes as the DeFi industry's growth is accelerating amidst the red-hot cryptocurrency market and lax regulatory headwinds in the United States.

Nearly $200 billion in assets are collectively held in DeFi protocols, nearly doubling since April but still below their 2021 peak, according to DeFi Markets data.