In a surprising move, the global trading platform Coinbase announced a major change in its policy regarding the conversion of the stablecoin USDC to US Dollar, as it will begin imposing a fee of 0.1% on net transfers exceeding 5 million Dollars within a 30-day period, effective August 13, 2025.

This step comes at a sensitive time for the company, which is suffering from a decline in its financial performance, as it recently announced quarterly revenues of 1.5 billion Dollar, lower than analysts' expectations, which ranged between 1.56 and 1.59 billion Dollar, causing Coinbase's stock to drop by 8% following the announcement of the results.

This change represents a significant reduction from the previous feature, where Coinbase allowed the conversion of up to 40 million Dollar from USDC to Dollar without fees, before incremental fees began from 0.05% to 0.2% for large conversions.

For his part, Will McComb, the product manager for stablecoins at Coinbase, justified the decision as a "trial" aimed at understanding the impact of fees on user behavior, especially in light of some competitors imposing higher fees when converting from stablecoins to traditional cash.

The announcement has sparked a wave of criticism on social media, with some users comparing the new fees to those of traditional banks, expressing concerns that the free limit may be further reduced in the future.