Coinbase announced a collaboration with JPMorgan Chase that makes it easier for Chase clients to onboard with the cryptocurrency exchange. This means that Chase customers will be able to onboard onto Coinbase using Chase cards and bank accounts. Additionally, customers will be able to redeem Chase Ultimate Rewards for the USDC stablecoin. This could be misinterpreted as crypto being made directly available to Chase clients, but it isn’t quite yet. It simply reduces the friction for Chase customers that want to onboard onto Coinbase.
However, in May the bank announced plans to enable clients to buy crypto and include it in their statement. Card support for Coinbase onboarding will start later this year, with the other functionality coming in late 2026. This follows an earlier collaboration between the two firms announced six weeks ago. The partnership involves the bank’s Kinexys by JPMorgan division piloting the issuance of a deposit token, JPMD, on the Base public blockchain founded by Coinbase. The token will be made available to the bank’s clients as well as the customers of its financial services partners.
The rewards-to-stablecoin feature reveals an interesting paradox. While stablecoins have limited retail adoption currently, major retailers like Amazon and Walmart are exploring their use primarily to avoid hefty merchant card fees. These fees largely flow to banks, which then redistribute most earnings back to customers as rewards. If stablecoins gain widespread retail acceptance, consumers who convert their Chase rewards to USDC today might inadvertently undermine the very fee structure that generates future rewards.
