Coinbase Reports $22 Billion in Average USDC Holdings as Institutional Payment Solutions Expand

Key Facts

Coinbase said the average amount of USDC held in its products reached $22 billion in the third quarter of 2026, setting a new record. The company said the figure was up 49% year over year. It added that the record had been repeated for the fourteenth consecutive quarter. PNC appears among the institutions featured in a Coinbase slide on stablecoin payment solutions across the company’s full infrastructure. In a report on the bank’s collaboration with Coinbase, Reuters said eligible PNC customers will be able to receive USDC payments and have them automatically converted into U.S. dollars.

According to Reuters, the companies said the service aims to accelerate businesses’ access to funds and improve the speed of cross-border transactions, as stablecoins can be sent and received almost instantly. Tom Lang, PNC’s head of treasury management products and operations, said the initiative focuses on “testing and learning with our customers” and exploring the potential benefits of stablecoins. Alec Lovett, Coinbase’s head of infrastructure products, described the collaboration as part of “a broader convergence between traditional finance institutions and crypto and stablecoin infrastructure.” In its 2026 annual statement, PNC said its strategic partnership with Coinbase had expanded its digital offerings and enabled customers to buy, hold and sell digital assets through the bank’s platform. Receiving payments represents an additional institutional channel within the collaboration cited by the bank.

In its third-quarter results, Coinbase said payment volume through Coinbase Developer Platform grew at a compound quarterly rate of 160% between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the third quarter of 2026. The metric includes completed payments across the platform’s products. Circle also said on-chain USDC transaction volume reached $14.8 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, up 151% year over year. The amount of the currency in circulation stood at $73.3 billion at the end of that quarter. In the first half of 2026, its on-chain transaction volume exceeded $36 trillion, while the total amount issued and redeemed by Circle topped $315 billion.

Circle said USDC is fully backed by highly liquid cash and cash-equivalent assets, and that holders can redeem it for U.S. dollars at a 1:1 ratio. On the regulatory front, the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued a final rule on October 21, 2026, to implement the GENIUS Act on payment stablecoins. The office set January 18, 2027, as the date the rule and the act take effect. The rule includes requirements for stablecoin issuers under the office’s jurisdiction, including those covering reserve assets, redemption and risk management. The office said matters related to the Bank Secrecy Act, anti-money laundering and sanctions would be addressed in separate rules coordinated with the Treasury Department.