Citi and Coinbase expand stablecoin payments for corporate clients via Spring by Citi
Citi and Coinbase are expanding their partnership so Spring by Citi clients can accept stablecoin payments, with Coinbase converting tokens to fiat and Citi settling as bank of record.
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Why it matters
Citi puts stablecoin acceptance inside a merchant platform it says moves about $6 trillion a day, and Coinbase gains a regulated banking layer for its payments customers. Bitcoin.com reports the two firms spent much of 2026 on opposite sides of Washington's stablecoin rewards fight. No client, volume, pricing or supported stablecoin has been published, so the commercial scale is not yet visible.
Where the sources disagree
Whether the Spring by Citi stablecoin capability is already live
Available now
CryptoSlate
No launch date, participating clients or supported stablecoins disclosed
Bitcoin.com News
CryptoSlate reports Coinbase describes the capability as available now, while Bitcoin.com reports neither company disclosed a launch date, participating clients or supported stablecoins.
Which outlet first reported the arrangement
Wall Street Journal exclusive
Bitcoin.com News
Bloomberg report
CoinGape
Bitcoin.com attributes the scoop to a Wall Street Journal exclusive, while CoinGape attributes reporting that merchants on Citi's platform can receive stablecoins at checkout to Bloomberg.
Key facts
Citi and Coinbase said on September 28 that they are expanding their partnership to cover corporate stablecoin payments.
Reported by CoinGape
Citi institutional clients can accept stablecoin payments through Spring by Citi, with Coinbase converting the tokens into fiat and Citi settling the funds as bank of record.
Reported by CoinGape
Coinbase Virtual Accounts are powered by Citi's Virtual Account Wallet, which converts incoming fiat into stablecoins, a conversion the companies call an industry first.
Reported by Bitcoin Magazine
Both features start in the United States, with more capabilities planned in the coming months.
Reported by CoinGape
Neither company disclosed a launch date, participating clients, supported stablecoins, pricing or transaction volumes.
Reported by Bitcoin.com News
The announcement extends a partnership the two firms announced in October 2025.
Reported by Bitcoin.com News
The companies said the setup gives merchants access to more than 150 million stablecoin holders worldwide.
150,000,000 peopleReported by Unchained
Citi moves about $6 trillion a day, according to the company as reported by Unchained, while Bitcoin.com described the figure as roughly $6 trillion across its networks.
6,000,000,000,000 USDDisputed figureReported by Bitcoin.com News
What happened
Citi and Coinbase announced on September 28 that they are expanding their digital-asset payments work in two directions, both starting in the United States. Institutional clients of Citi can accept stablecoin payments at checkout through Spring by Citi, the bank's merchant acquiring, gateway and settlement platform, with Coinbase supplying the payments infrastructure and converting the tokens into fiat while Citi settles the funds as bank of record, a setup Debopama Sen, Citi's head of payments, tied to building payments infrastructure across traditional and digital rails. In the other direction, Coinbase selected Citi's Virtual Account Wallet, sold through the bank's banking-as-a-service business, to power Coinbase Virtual Accounts, which give payments customers bank-account-like features and convert incoming fiat into stablecoins, something the companies describe as an industry first. Bitcoin.com, citing a Wall Street Journal exclusive from the same day, called the work an extension of a partnership announced in October 2025 and reported that Citi and Coinbase spent much of 2026 on opposite sides of Washington's stablecoin rewards fight. Unchained reported that the companies put merchant reach at more than 150 million stablecoin holders worldwide and that Citi moves about $6 trillion a day, while Bitcoin.com put Citi's tokenized-deposit volume at roughly $1 billion daily. How much is actually live is unclear: CryptoSlate says Coinbase describes the stablecoin acceptance as available now, yet that outlet also says no client has processed a payment through Spring, and Bitcoin.com reports neither company disclosed a launch date, participating clients or supported stablecoins.
How the story developed
- Update
Wall Street Journal reported the Coinbase-Citi payment arrangement
Bitcoin.com says the Wall Street Journal disclosed the arrangement in an exclusive on Monday, Sept. 28; CoinGape separately attributes reporting that Citi platform merchants can receive stablecoins at checkout to Bloomberg.
- Official statement
Citi and Coinbase issued a joint statement on two payment products
The statement covers stablecoin acceptance through Spring by Citi and Citi's Virtual Account Wallet powering Coinbase Virtual Accounts.
- First report
First report by CoinGape
Coinbase Partners With Citi to Expand Stablecoin Payment Access for Corporates
- Update
Crypto media coverage of the expansion
CoinGape published the first desk report, followed by Bitcoin.com, Bitcoin Magazine and Decrypt on Sept. 28.
- Official statement
Official statement from Bitcoin.com News
Banking Giant Citi Taps Coinbase to Turn Stablecoins Into Cash
- Update
Unchained published fuller detail from the announcement
Unchained reported the $6 trillion daily figure, the 150 million stablecoin holders and a quote from Citi services head Shahmir Khaliq.
- Update
CryptoSlate reported the availability wording and the disclosure gaps
CryptoSlate said Coinbase describes the capability as available now while noting that no client, volume, pricing, eligible currency or supported stablecoin was disclosed.
How coverage built up
Independent sources over time, counted the way the consensus panel counts them: a republication of a wire story does not move the line.
- 28 Sept 2026, 15:14 UTC: CoinGape — 1 independent source, 1 reports
- 28 Sept 2026, 19:15 UTC: Bitcoin.com News, official — 2 independent sources, 2 reports
- 28 Sept 2026, 19:36 UTC: Bitcoin Magazine — 3 independent sources, 3 reports
- 28 Sept 2026, 20:36 UTC: Decrypt — 4 independent sources, 4 reports
- 28 Sept 2026, 22:00 UTC: Unchained — 5 independent sources, 5 reports
- 29 Sept 2026, 05:06 UTC: Crypto News (CryptoNews.net) — 6 independent sources, 6 reports
- 29 Sept 2026, 06:00 UTC: CryptoSlate — 7 independent sources, 7 reports
- 29 Sept 2026, 13:30 UTC: NewsBTC — 8 independent sources, 11 reports
- 30 Sept 2026, 07:15 UTC: The Daily Hodl — 9 independent sources, 12 reports
Affected entities
Also mentioned: Ethereum, Japan, Chainlink, United Arab Emirates, Goldman Sachs, PayPal
Original sources
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