Chime May Let Users Hold Stablecoins Directly in Its App

The banking app on your phone might soon do a lot more than move regular dollars.

Chime Financial Inc., the San Francisco company known for no-fee banking, is exploring ways to let customers hold and move stablecoins without ever leaving the app. In late spring, Chime asked blockchain firms to pitch "end-to-end" stablecoin wallet services, according to people with knowledge of the plans and a document reviewed by Bloomberg News.

Rain, a startup that builds stablecoin infrastructure, was one of the companies that talked with Chime about the project. Neither Chime nor Rain would comment, and it is unclear if the two are still in discussions.

Why a Banking App Would Want Crypto

Stablecoins are crypto tokens usually tied to the U.S. dollar, so their value stays steady. A stablecoin wallet is simply a digital account for moving those tokens. If Chime adds this feature, customers could use stablecoins for payments without opening a separate account at a crypto exchange.

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This is not a fringe idea anymore. In February, McKinsey & Co. and Artemis reported that stablecoin payment volume hit $390 billion in 2025, more than double the 2024 figure. Big players are paying attention.

Mastercard finished its purchase of BVNK, a stablecoin infrastructure company, earlier this month. In July, Visa introduced a service allowing financial institutions to create, transfer, and oversee stablecoins.

The political winds have shifted too. President Donald Trump has backed stablecoins as a way to expand the dollar's reach, and the Genius Act he signed in July 2025 set up a U.S. stablecoin framework. That law opened the door for more mainstream finance companies to jump in.

A Crowded Field With Big Names

Chime is not going at this alone. In late June, Stripe Inc., BlackRock Inc., and Alphabet Inc. were among more than 100 firms that said they would create a shared stablecoin called Open USD. Chime is part of the Open Standard group behind that token, and Chime founder and CEO Chris Britt called stablecoins "a breakthrough technology" in the announcement.

Open USD will compete with Tether and Circle Internet Group Inc., whose tokens make up most of the market's supply. That is a tough crowd, but the entry of so many mainstream names suggests the market is big enough to share.

Chime has the user base to make a move matter. Founded in 2012, Chime grew into a leading U.S. online bank, went public in June 2025, and currently counts over 10.4 million active users. If even a fraction of those customers start using stablecoins, the volume could be meaningful.

The bottom line: For everyday investors, this is a sign that crypto is becoming less of a separate, scary world and more of a feature inside the apps you already use. Stablecoins, unlike some cryptocurrencies, do not swing wildly in value. They are closer to digital dollars that move at any hour of the day.

That matters for your portfolio because it means the line between traditional banking and crypto is blurring fast. When companies like Chime, Visa, and Mastercard build for this, they are betting that faster, always-on payments become the normal way money moves. The question is not whether stablecoins will be part of finance, but which companies will win the business of holding them.

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