Coinbase’s Lending Strategy, Google’s New Ad Policy, and Marathon’s Mining Performance

Crypto giant Coinbase is strategically navigating the ongoing turbulence in the cryptocurrency industry throughout 2023. The company has recently launched a lending platform aimed at institutional investors, seeking to address the gap left by major firms that collapsed during the crypto winter of 2022, such as Celsius Network, BlockFi, and Genesis.

This initiative follows Coinbase’s decision to discontinue its Borrow service for retail customers in May due to increasing regulatory scrutiny. The Borrow service previously enabled select customers to use cryptocurrency as collateral for cash loans. The new lending solution, however, is specifically designed for institutional investors—companies and organizations that invest on behalf of their clients, including mutual funds and pension plans.

In addition to the lending platform, other notable developments include a reported 9% decrease in Marathon’s mining rate in August, Google’s approval of advertisements for NFT games starting September 15, and South Korean Hana Bank’s entry into the crypto custody business in partnership with BitGo.