Coinbase Enables USDC Loans Backed by Tokenized Gold

Eligible Coinbase users in the United States can now borrow USDC using Paxos’s PAX Gold as collateral. The feature, which went live in early November, marks the first time Coinbase Borrow has accepted a non-crypto asset.

Gold Joins Bitcoin, Ether & Others

Until now, Coinbase Borrow had only accepted crypto-native collateral such as Bitcoin, Ether, XRP, and Solana. PAXG, each token representing one fine troy ounce of physical gold held in LBMA-accredited vaults, becomes the first real-world asset on the platform.

Users can pledge the token inside the Coinbase app and receive USDC without selling their gold position.

Morpho & Base Handle Plumbing

Coinbase supplies the user interface and customer base; Morpho supplies the on-chain lending infrastructure and liquidity.

The same integration already supports roughly $3.4 billion in collateral and more than $1.7 billion in active loans across crypto assets. Adding gold required no new lending stack—only a new market on the existing system.

Variable Rates, No Fixed Term

Borrowers face variable interest rates set by the Morpho market rather than by Coinbase. There is no fixed repayment schedule or minimum payment.

Positions are governed by loan-to-value thresholds: if the value of the pledged PAXG falls too far relative to the outstanding USDC, the collateral can be liquidated.

Access is limited to eligible U.S. customers outside New York, with asset-specific borrowing limits and terms displayed in the app.

A Small Slice of a Large Market

Only a few billion dollars of the roughly $30 trillion gold market has been tokenized so far. Coinbase’s move gives holders of one of the larger regulated gold tokens a way to raise dollar liquidity against it without leaving the exchange.

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