Coinbase powers Citi’s new stablecoin rails, and corporate banking faces a major shift

According to an announcement made by Coinbase on Sept. 28, institutional clients of Citi can now accept stablecoin payments via Spring by Citi, utilizing Coinbase’s underlying payment infrastructure.

Additionally, Coinbase stated that its Virtual Accounts can seamlessly convert incoming fiat currency into stablecoins by leveraging Citi’s Virtual Account Wallet. This announcement establishes two distinct use cases for the companies’ prior digital asset payment alliance: one dedicated to receiving stablecoins, and the other designed to convert traditional currency payments into stablecoins.

For institutional clients at Citi, the primary offering is Spring by Citi, backed by Coinbase’s infrastructure to facilitate stablecoin acceptance. Businesses opting for this pathway will initiate transactions using stablecoin payments.

While Coinbase indicates that this feature is currently live, the announcement omits the names of any clients that have successfully processed payments through Spring and does not disclose transaction volumes.

Coinbase Virtual Accounts handle the reverse transaction flow between traditional currency and stablecoins. Powered by Citi’s Virtual Account Wallet, these accounts provide customers with fiat wallets capable of automatically converting incoming conventional money, as noted by Coinbase.

This particular workflow initiates with a traditional currency transaction and concludes with stablecoins deposited into the user’s account. However, the public summary omits specific details regarding eligible stablecoins or fiat currencies, leaving the exact conversion options unspecified.

Because these two channels cater to different client bases and originate with distinct forms of money, Citi’s institutional payment users receive an avenue to accept stablecoins, whereas Coinbase Virtual Account holders benefit from an automated pipeline converting fiat receipts into stablecoins.

In its blog summary, Coinbase refrained from detailing market-specific pricing or eligibility requirements for either of the Citi-integrated channels. Although the functions appear complementary, the publication does not confirm whether a single user is permitted to utilize both features.

The collaboration between the firms precedes these newly introduced features. Back in October 2025, Citi announced plans alongside Coinbase to build out institutional digital asset payment solutions, initially concentrating on fiat pay-ins and pay-outs to support Coinbase’s payment orchestration and on- and off-ramps.

At the time, Citi noted that tailored projects would roll out subsequently, and the Sept. 28 rollout outlines two specific customer-facing payment workflows stemming from those plans.

Despite this official launch, the current availability details do not clarify whether institutions are actively using these pathways, nor do they specify the scale of adoption. Coinbase’s overview does not reveal any transaction volume metrics, user totals, or specific live merchants tied to the Citi integration.

The absence of these operational metrics makes it difficult to fully evaluate the current reach of the partnership, even as the two organizations transition from initial exploratory concepts to concrete, customer-ready payment solutions.

?Frequently Asked Questions

01What is Spring by Citi?

Spring by Citi is a service that now allows institutional clients to accept stablecoin payments, utilizing payment infrastructure provided by Coinbase.

02How do Coinbase Virtual Accounts work with Citi?

Powered by Citi’s Virtual Account Wallet, Coinbase Virtual Accounts allow customers to use fiat wallets that automatically convert incoming traditional currency into stablecoins.

03Are specific currencies and transaction volumes publicly available?

No. Public summaries from Coinbase have not disclosed the eligible stablecoins, traditional currencies, transaction volumes, or specific live merchants utilizing these new features.