Apollo partners with Coinbase to 'unlock' stablecoin lending business

Coinbase's asset management arm said on Monday it has partnered with one of the world's largest asset managers, Apollo Global Management, in order to grow the cryptocurrency exchange's portfolio of stablecoin credit services.

The strategies that Coinbase Asset Management and Apollo will work on are over-collateralized asset lending, corporate direct lending, and tokenized credit holdings. The services would allow users to borrow against their digital assets, direct lending to borrowers, and "tokenized investment products providing exposure to Apollo-managed credit strategies," according to a statement.

"The global stablecoin ecosystem, which operates 24/7 on blockchain rails, creates opportunities not available in traditional private credit portfolios," said Anthony Bassili, who serves as president of Coinbase Asset Management. Coinbase said the stablecoin market could grow to $3 trillion by 2030.

While the U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange is exploring new ways to grow its business — especially since President Trump's crypto-friendly administration took over this year — Apollo is no stranger to digital asset plays. Besides partnering with the BlackRock-backed Securitize in order to launch access to tokenized credit, the asset manager has also invested in Plume Network, a real-world assets firm.

Apollo and Coinbase are aiming to bring credit investment products to market next year, the statement said. Coinbase already allows some U.S.-based customers to borrow up to $100,000, using their digital assets as collateral.

Of note, Coinbase also said Monday it's exploring ways to improve various digital-payment related initiatives, including "fiat to onchain stablecoin payout methods," with banking giant Citi.