Last edited: Dec 17, 2021

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., will be launching a decentralized finance (DeFi) platform called Lend, which allows users to earn yields on stablecoins and access staking or borrowing features on the platform, despite threats from U.S. Securities and Exchange (SEC).

Coinbase will use DeFi protocol Compound Finance (COMP) and its rates to generate yields for its users of Lend. Coinbase states that it will be pushing DeFi to the masses by making it easier to access DeFi protocols and features through its user-friendly interface.

In the announcement of the Lend launch, Coinbase said that “Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is becoming one of the most popular use cases for blockchain technology,” and that through Lend, Coinbase is making “DeFi more customer friendly and accessible. Eligible users will now be able to access the attractive yields of DeFi from the comfort of their Coinbase accounts with just a few taps and without the network fees,” since accessing DeFi protocols traditionally requires expensive networks fees and a more complex user journey.

Coinbase users from 70 different countries, not including the U.S., will now be able to access Lend from the Coinbase platform. They could earn yield on DAO, a stablecoin maintained by MakerDAO and is running on Ethereum.

Lend was supposed to be rolled out earlier this year, but was denied by the SEC, stating the platform violates securities law, though Coinbase claims it never got a clear explanation of the specific laws Lend violates.

It will be interesting to see which other centralized crypto exchanges will also collaborate with a DeFi protocol to bring staking and yield farming to more users. Crypto.com and Kraken seems like reasonable options, as both exchanges are competing with Coinbase and will be seeking new ventures to bring in more customers onto their respective platforms.

Despite this positive news for crypto investors and traders, all coins are down over the last 24 hours.

ETH price chart over the past 24 hours (15-minute intervals)