Coinbase and Marqeta are expanding their partnership to power stablecoin-backed payment cards for enterprise customers. Coinbase will handle custody and settlement on Base, while Marqeta issues the cards. Neither company disclosed volume or revenue figures for the deal.
Coinbase and Marqeta announced on October 16, 2026 that they are expanding their partnership to power stablecoin-backed payment cards for enterprise customers. A business holds stablecoins, its cardholders pay at a regular merchant, and the merchant never has to know crypto was involved.
Who does what
Under the arrangement, Coinbase takes custody of the stablecoin balances. It will also convert them into fiat currency and run on-chain settlement through Base, its own blockchain.
Marqeta, in turn, covers the card side. It will issue the cards, process payments and manage the relationships with financial institutions and card networks. Cardholders can spend at any merchant that accepts traditional cards.
Programs built on the partnership will support 24/7 funding, so companies can top up card programs whenever they need to. Neither company disclosed volume or revenue figures tied to the expanded deal.
A second round for the two companies
This is not the first time the two have worked together. Marqeta powered the original launch of Coinbase's crypto spending card in 2020-2021, a product that let individual Coinbase users spend their crypto holdings. The new deal moves the relationship from consumers to enterprises.
Marqeta processed nearly $400 billion in payments volume in 2025 and operates in over 40 countries. It is targeting two audiences: crypto-native companies that already hold digital assets, and traditional firms that want to fold those assets into their everyday fiat payment operations.
What it means for Base and the risks involved
For Coinbase, the deal deepens Base's role as payment infrastructure. Settlement activity from enterprise card programs could give the blockchain a steady use case beyond trading. For Marqeta, the expansion is a bid to grow its presence in the stablecoin market.
Risks remain. Stablecoin payments depend on custody, conversion and settlement all working at once, and a weak link in that chain affects the cardholder experience directly. Regulatory treatment of stablecoins also varies across countries, which means operating in over 40 markets involves a patchwork of rules.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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