Klarna Taps Coinbase for USDC Treasury Liquidity; COIN Gains 2%
The BNPL giant becomes the first major public fintech to integrate stablecoins into its liability stack, using Coinbase rails to raise capital directly in USDC.
Klarna (NYSE: KLAR) has opened a new capital channel in the crypto markets, partnering with Coinbase (COIN) to raise short-term funding denominated in USDC. The deal marks one of the first instances of a major public fintech using stablecoins not for consumer payments, but as a core liability in its treasury stack.
The Treasury Play
Unlike competitors creating closed-loop stablecoins for checkout, Klarna is plugging USDC directly into its funding mix alongside traditional commercial paper and term loans. The Swedish fintech, which went public in September, will utilize Coinbase’s institutional infrastructure to custody and settle the funds.
Stablecoin connects us to an entirely new class of institutional investors and gives us the potential to diversify our funding sources in ways that simply weren’t possible a few years ago, Niclas Neglén, Klarna CFO
The operational logic is speed and access. By tapping into on-chain liquidity, Klarna can bypass traditional banking settlement times (T+2) for near-instant capital deployment. For Coinbase, the deal validates its pivot toward institutional services as transaction revenue faces compression.
Market Reaction & Context
Coinbase shares (COIN) traded up 2.5% to $246 on the news, outperforming the broader fintech sector. Klarna (KLAR), which has struggled since its September IPO (currently trading ~20% below its $40 offering price), sees the move as a way to optimize its cost of capital amid a high-rate environment.
This partnership signals a shift in the corporate use of crypto: from speculative asset holding (like MicroStrategy) to operational utility. Klarna effectively treats USDC as a digital Eurodollar—a neutral, bearer instrument for wholesale funding.
