Swedish payments giant Klarna has entered a partnership with Coinbase to introduce stablecoin-denominated funding to its treasury operations, marking one of the first instances of a major fintech giant using digital assets for institutional capital raising.

The arrangement will allow Klarna to raise short-term funding from institutional investors denominated in USDC through Coinbase's digital infrastructure, the companies announced on December 19. 

The initiative adds a new dimension to Klarna's existing funding mix, which already includes consumer deposits, long-term loans and short-dated commercial paper.

"This is an exciting first step into a new way to raise funding," said Niclas Neglén, Klarna's CFO. "Stablecoin connects us to an entirely new class of institutional investors, and gives us the potential to diversify our funding sources in ways that simply weren't possible a few years ago."

According to Klarna's statement, using USDC-denominated funding enables the company to access dollar-equivalent funding directly while tapping into a new pool of institutional capital. Klarna selected Coinbase based on its track record supporting crypto infrastructure for countless global firms.

Context: KlarnaUSD

The Coinbase partnership follows Klarna's November announcement of KlarnaUSD, a dollar-backed stablecoin set to launch on Stripe's Tempo blockchain in 2026. Built using Open Issuance by Bridge, a Stripe subsidiary, KlarnaUSD is currently on testnet ahead of its mainnet deployment.

For context, tablecoin transaction volumes have reached $27 trillion annually, according to McKinsey estimates cited by Klarna in its communications. 

The stablecoin represents Klarna's bid to reduce cross-border payment costs, which generate an estimated $120 billion in annual transaction fees. With 114 million customers and over $118 billion in gross merchandise volume, Klarna aims to leverage blockchain rails to offer faster and cheaper alternatives to traditional payment networks (as well as the growing field of buy-now-pay-later competitors).

However, Coinbase itself has also established itself as a driving force of the institutional adoption of blockchain, early December seeing CEO Brian Armstrong announce that the firm was working with several major US institutions regarding cryptocurrency pilot programs.

Sources

• Klarna: Klarna partners with Coinbase to add stablecoin to funding mix
• Klarna: Markus Villig and Niclas Neglén appointed to Klarna Group PLC Board of Directors
• Klarna: Social Media Communications
• Cointelegraph: Klarna partners with Coinbase to accept stablecoin funding from institutions
• Klarna: Klarna Launches KlarnaUSD as Stablecoin Transactions Hit $27 Trillion Annually

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