Coinbase Picks Chainlink for $7 Billion Crypto Bridging Project

This collaboration will see Coinbase use Chainlink’s Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) as the exclusive bridging solution for all Coinbase Wrapped Assets, allowing cross-chain transfers and expansion, the companies said in a news release Thursday (Dec. 11).

Those assets, which include cbBTC, cbETH, cbDOGE, cbLTC, cbADA, and cbXRP, have an aggregate market cap of around $7 billion, according to the release.

“Chainlink operates battle-tested infrastructure and has a track record of securing tens of billions of dollars,” the companies said.

“Chainlink CCIP leverages the same decentralized oracle networks that secure over 70% of DeFi globally and has enabled more than $27 trillion in transaction volume,” the release added, in reference to “decentralized finance.”

The release goes on to say that Chainlink CCIP offers an established foundation for connecting Coinbase Wrapped Assets across ecosystems. With Chainlink CCIP as sole bridging provider, Coinbase Wrapped Assets are poised to enjoy a substantial expansion.

“We chose Chainlink because they are an industry leader for cross-chain connectivity,” said Josh Leavitt, senior director for product management at Coinbase. “Their infrastructure provides a reliable means to expand Coinbase Wrapped Asset offerings.”

William Reilly, head of strategic initiatives at Chainlink, said Coinbase “takes security and reliability for their products seriously,” and that he was “excited about accelerating the growth of Coinbase’s wrapped assets and look forward to helping bring global finance onchain.”

The news comes days after Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said the company was collaborating with some of America’s largest banks on pilot programs to test stablecoins, crypto custody and trading.

“The best banks are leaning into this as an opportunity,” Armstrong said at the New York Times DealBook Summit, without identifying which banks Coinbase was working with. “The ones who are fighting it are going to get left behind.”

Coinbase has announced some other collaborations with banks in recent months, revealing in October that it planned to join forces with Citi on digital asset payment capabilities.

This effort is happening as banks are showing increased interest in blockchain technology, as PYMNTS Intelligence wrote in the recent report, “Building the Blockchain Blueprint: How Leading FIs Are Modernizing Money, Markets and Trust.”

“In banking, blockchains can potentially reduce manual reconciliations, shorten settlement windows and make money programmable,” that report said.

“For treasurers and operations leaders, that could mean efficient liquidity management and the ability to commercially interact with underbanked regions. For risk and compliance teams, it could also mean greater traceability if designed accordingly.”