Chime‘s stablecoin wallet plans have moved far enough along that the company has formally requested proposals from blockchain infrastructure firms, according to Bloomberg. Among those in contention is Rain, a digital assets firm whose growing client list and infrastructure partnerships suggest it is well placed to pitch for the work.
What Chime Is Actually Asking For
Bloomberg reported that Chime Financial has reached out to blockchain infrastructure providers with the goal of offering full-scale stablecoin wallet services inside its consumer app. Rain is named as one potential provider. The company has already powered a number of stablecoin-related ventures, including Western Union’s newly launched stablecard.
According to IQ.wiki, Rain’s infrastructure was being used by over 200 organisations (including enterprises, neobanks and fintech platforms) as of January 2026. That breadth of deployment gives Rain a credible track record to put in front of a consumer-facing platform the size of Chime.
Rain’s positioning has also been reinforced by a deal struck at a higher level of the payments stack. In May 2025, Rain revealed a strategic partnership with Visa to develop on-chain settlement infrastructure using USDC, aiming to enable 24/7 settlement and create tokenised credit. For Chime, which would need stablecoin infrastructure that sits comfortably alongside conventional payment rails, that Visa relationship is likely to be part of Rain’s pitch.
The Demand Question Behind Chime’s Stablecoin Wallet Plans
The technology question may be the easier part to answer. The harder one is whether Chime’s customers would actually use a stablecoin wallet, and for what.
Joel Hugentobler, Cryptocurrency Analyst at Javelin Strategy & Research, put it plainly: ‘Chime could help stablecoins cross the line from “crypto product” to an everyday account feature, but distribution alone won’t create demand. This feature only moves the needle if customers can do something materially faster, cheaper, or easier than they can with the dollars already sitting in their accounts.’
That is a genuine constraint. Chime has built its reputation on making everyday banking feel frictionless, an intuitive platform, early direct-deposit access, and a credit-builder card aimed at customers who are rebuilding or establishing credit. Stablecoin support would need to slot into that experience rather than ask users to think like crypto participants.
One use case that could sidestep that problem is cross-border payments. Stablecoins can enable faster, less expensive and more transparent international transfers than traditional correspondent banking, and that is an area where Chime’s existing product set offers relatively little. The platform currently operates only in the US, so stablecoin capabilities could eventually provide a foundation for serving customers with international payment needs, remittances in particular.
Hugentobler spelled out the strategic logic: ‘Stablecoins could let Chime move from domestic peer-to-peer payments directly into international payments without a corresponding banking stack, which would be an interesting move.’
Whether that move materialises depends on more than Chime’s intentions. The company is still at the proposal-request stage, and building out compliant stablecoin infrastructure for a mass consumer audience involves regulatory questions that remain unsettled in the US. Chime’s lending capabilities also remain limited compared with established financial institutions, and adding a new product layer before those gaps are addressed carries its own risks.
What is clear is that Chime is actively exploring the option rather than waiting for the regulatory and market picture to fully resolve. With Rain’s Visa-linked infrastructure in the mix, the Chime stablecoin wallet plans are at least being tested against a credible supply side.
