The service allows holders to access liquidity without triggering capital gains taxes, though it requires wrapping tokens and carries automatic liquidation risks if collateral values drop.
Leading crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) has officially expanded its US crypto-backed loans to accept XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano’s ADA and Litecoin (LTC) as collateral.
According to the announcement, eligible users can borrow up to US$100K (AU$142K) in USDC without selling their crypto.
New Loans On Coinbase
The loans run through Morpho, a decentralised lending protocol, so the loan and collateral rules are handled on-chain, not from Coinbase’s own balance sheet. The service is available in most of the US, excluding the state of New York.
The news, however, didn’t do much to boost the price of these cryptocurrencies, which is not surprising considering the current market sentiment. Bitcoin recently slipped below US$66K (AU$100K), dragging most altcoins with it, and a total market cap of barely US$2.3 trillion (AU$3.2 trillion)
Notice that the change adds more retail-focused tokens to a product that previously leaned on Bitcoin and Ether. Unlike ETH and ADA, tokens such as XRP, DOGE and LTC don’t have native staking yield, so borrowing is one of the few ways holders can access cash without exiting the position.
Coinbase is pitching the loans as a way to access liquidity without triggering capital gains from a sale, but, of course, it carries the usual liquidation risk, so if the collateral price drops enough, the collateral can be sold to repay the loan. The exchange said the collateral is “wrapped,” meaning the tokens are converted into a form that can work on Ethereum-compatible networks.
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