PNC taps Coinbase to bring crypto trading into client accounts

The bank will allow wealth and asset management clients to trade crypto directly through their accounts, without using a third-party platform.

Cover art/illustration via CryptoSlate. Image includes combined content which may include AI-generated content.

PNC Financial Services Group has formed a partnership with Coinbase to let the bank’s customers access crypto services, as Bloomberg News reported on July 22.

According to PNC’s head of treasury management Emma Loftus, the arrangement is in its early phase. It will begin by allowing wealth and asset management clients to trade cryptocurrencies directly through their PNC accounts, without requiring them to log out of the bank’s platform.

PNC will also provide selected banking services to Coinbase, likely in treasury management.

The demand for a unified dashboard to enhance user experience appears to be widespread. Recently, Charles Schwab CEO Rick Wurster spoke about its clients’ demand to keep their crypto balances together with all their assets on a single dashboard.

Considering crypto cases

Loftus said the bank is evaluating cryptocurrency use cases for commercial and corporate clients, particularly in payments and treasury management functions, but noted that these are not yet fully developed. 

She said PNC sees future potential in settling payments in digital assets as they become common at the point of sale or written into contracts. However, she emphasized that such capabilities are not imminent.

Executives at the largest US banks, including JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon, Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan, and Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, have described stablecoins as a potential threat to banks’ control over payments and indicated that they are preparing competitive responses.

On July 18, President Donald Trump signed the first federal law regulating stablecoins, marking a significant victory for the crypto industry.

PNC expects any large-scale stablecoin initiative to be led by an industry consortium, CEO William Demchak said on the company’s recent earnings call, adding that PNC would participate.

Loftus said she has examined crypto and blockchain as alternative payment methods for more than a decade and believes the current regulatory environment will accelerate adoption.

She added that the technology is not new but that prioritizing it now makes sense for the bank.

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