Coinbase Killing USDC Rewards Program for Free Users

Coinbase is ending its USDC rewards program for free users, starting next week. In an email sent Thursday to its customers, the crypto exchange said that only Coinbase One subscribers will be eligible for stablecoin rewards going forward.

What's the Scoop?

• Rewards Revamp: Starting next Monday, December 15, only paying Coinbase subscribers will be eligible to receive USDC stablecoin rewards.
• Circle Connection: Coinbase receives payments from USDC issuer Circle for its on-platform USDC as part of a "collaboartion agreement." Circle's most recent SEC filing shows it paid Coinbase $989.1M in the first nine months of 2025 under this agreement.
• Customer Statistics: According to Coinbase's Q3 2025 financials, the exchange held $9B of customer USDC in custody. Coinbase reports 9.3M monthly transacting users, and disclosed last December that it had surpassed 600k Coinbase One subscribers.
• Falling Rates: While Coinbase was paying out USDC yields upwards of 5% just last year, these rates have fallen precipitously throughout 2025 alongside lower short-term market interest rates.

What's the Take?

Although it is unclear exactly why Coinbase is moving to eliminate USDC rewards for its free users, the move likely has something do with the exchange's bottom line.

While furthering the service gap between Coinbase's paid and free services may incentivize more customers to subscribe, boosting subscription revenues, the change risks alienating some users, who are unwilling to pay $50 per year to access the same yields they can for free via money markets on a regulated stock exchange.