A New Standard for Clearing: Marex and Coinbase Bring USDC Into Regulated Margin Workflows
TL;DR: Marex is now accepting USDC as collateral in regulated derivatives clearing, powered by Coinbase. With instant fiat-to-USDC conversion and custom reporting infrastructure, Coinbase and Marex are bringing stablecoins into US-regulated margin workflows.
Marex has gone live accepting USDC to meet initial margin requirements within its regulated derivatives clearing business, making stablecoin collateral operational inside traditional clearing infrastructure. Prime Trading, LLC executed the first transaction through this workflow. Coinbase is the engine behind it, providing custody, 1:1 instant fiat-to-USDC conversion, and custom daily reporting aligned with clearing infrastructure.
This workflow became possible following a December 2025 CFTC no-action letter that opened the door for FCMs to accept stablecoins, bitcoin, and ether as customer margin collateral.
Why stablecoin collateral matters
Crypto markets trade around the clock and collateral should move when the market does, not when the bank opens. USDC provides always-on collateral mobility that allows firms to move margin at any time.
Powered by Coinbase
1:1 instant fiat-to-USDC conversion, 24/7. Clients can move between fiat and USDC at any time, removing the dependency on banking hours for collateral movement.
Custom daily reporting aligned with industry standard requirements. Bespoke infrastructure built to support stablecoin collateral within existing clearing frameworks.
NYDFS-qualified custody for USDC collateral balances. The same custody infrastructure that safeguards assets for the majority of US spot crypto ETFs.
This infrastructure sits within the same Prime platform institutions already use for trading, custody, financing, and derivatives.
Bringing innovation to capital markets
Stablecoins have established themselves in trading, treasury, and settlement workflows. This launch extends that into clearing infrastructure, where collateral requirements, reporting standards, and regulatory alignment are demanding.
As more asset classes move toward tokenized collateral formats, stablecoins are positioned to become the preferred collateral type for regulated markets. The operational requirements are specific: collateral must be custodied, converted, reported, and reconciled within existing frameworks that regulators and clearinghouses oversee. That requires purpose-built infrastructure.
What comes next
This launch with Marex is an early proof point. Coinbase is building the infrastructure to support stablecoin collateral at scale: custody, instant conversion, reporting, and derivatives access integrated within a single platform. We expect this model to extend across more clearinghouses, asset classes, and margin workflows as the market moves toward always-on collateral.
