Coinbase is introducing a fee structure on USD conversions from the stablecoin USDC, stating from August 13 that conversions exceeding a net of $5 million over a 30-day period will incur a 0.1% charge.
The rollout follows Coinbase’s second-quarter financial results, which missed targets and led to a sharp drop in its stock price. Coinbase’s stablecoin revenue grew by 12% year-on-year to $332 million year-on-year.
“We’re running an experiment to better understand how fees impact USDC off-ramping,” Coinbase’s senior product manager for stablecoins, Will McComb, stated in a response to critics.
Commentators, including crypto influencer Cobie, speculated the fees aim to curb arbitrage between Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC), as the latter may be used to bypass Tether’s $1 redemption fee for those converting to USD.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong concurred with one such speculation, while analysts suggested the move could help offset losses incurred from managing USDC.
This update adds to Coinbase’s previously tiered fee schedule, which imposes lower fees on high-volume converters compared to existing policies.
