PNC Bank Partners with Coinbase to Unleash Crypto for Mainstream Clients

Traditional finance heavyweight PNC just blinked—and crypto won.

The $560 billion asset bank is teaming with Coinbase to offer digital asset services, signaling institutional FOMO is alive and well in 2025.

Wall Street's latest crypto convert

No more 'blockchain not Bitcoin' platitudes. PNC's move follows JPMorgan and BNY Mellon down the crypto rabbit hole, proving even boomer banks can't ignore $2T+ in market demand.

The fine print? Clients get Coinbase's institutional platform—with PNC taking a tidy cut for the privilege of middlemanning Web3. Some things never change.

One step closer to mass adoption... or just another bank finding creative ways to charge for money movement? Either way, the crypto rails keep expanding.

Banks in the crypto space

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said in April that OCC-regulated banks could now  buy and sell crypto assets, as well as offer custody and “outsource bank-permissible crypto-asset activities.” The regulator expounded on this in May, with the shift in approach quickly cementing under the pro-crypto administration of President Donald Trump.

A recent statement from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the OCC reiterated banks’ engagement in crypto activities, particularly crypto custody. 

PNC’s foray into the crypto space sees it join banking giants such as JPMorgan and Bank of America, among others. Coinbase continues to play a key role in this, with its crypto-as-a-service platform offering PNC the tools it needs to scale the crypto venture.