Deploy Finance, an onchain Coinbase Earn alternative
Coinbase Earn and Deploy Finance both offer a way to put crypto to work without running a strategy yourself, but they start from opposite custody models. Coinbase Earn holds your assets on your behalf and takes a commission on the rewards. Deploy Finance leaves your USDC in a wallet only you control, and does not take a cut of your deposits.
Compare Coinbase Earn and Deploy Finance
| Coinbase Earn | Deploy Finance | |
|---|---|---|
| Product model | Custodial staking and rewards on eligible assets held at Coinbase | Curated autonomous agents that trade from a self-custodial wallet |
| Custody | Coinbase holds the assets; they never leave Coinbase's custody while staked | You hold the keys through a self-custodial, exportable wallet; the agent never takes custody |
| Return source | Network staking and validation rewards | Perpetual funding spreads (Income) or directional price moves (Superstar) |
| Fees | No fee to stake or unstake, but Coinbase takes a commission commonly cited around 25–35% of gross staking rewards | No subscription, no management fee, no commission on your returns |
| Access control | Standard exchange account controls | Scoped, revocable session key; you can revoke agent access without going through an exchange support flow |
| Best fit | Users comfortable with custodial exchange staking and its commission | Users who want to keep custody of their assets while an agent executes a defined strategy |
What is Coinbase Earn?
Coinbase Earn lets users stake or otherwise earn rewards on eligible crypto assets directly through their Coinbase account. Assets remain in Coinbase's custody throughout — this is a custodial arrangement, not a self-custodial one.
How Coinbase Earn works
- Opt into staking or an eligible rewards program for a supported asset from your Coinbase account.
- Rewards come from network-level activity — blockchain transaction fees and new issuance — not from a trading strategy.
- Coinbase does not charge a separate fee to stake or unstake, but takes a commission out of the gross rewards before they reach you, commonly cited in the 25–35% range depending on the asset.
- Your assets stay in Coinbase's custody the entire time; you are relying on the exchange's solvency and security rather than holding your own keys.
Deploy Finance: self-custodial agents, no commission
Deploy Finance runs autonomous trading agents funded and settled in USDC, from wallets whose keys their owners hold. The live agents are Income: Funding Rates and Superstar.
Deploy Finance's live features
- Income: Funding Rates: a market-neutral agent that seeks returns from perpetual funding spreads while managing its hedge.
- Superstar: a directional agent that takes long or short positions under its defined strategy.
- Self-custodial agent wallet: your USDC stays in a wallet built on Privy's embedded-wallet infrastructure, with exportable keys. The agent receives a scoped, revocable session key and cannot transfer or withdraw funds.
Coinbase Earn's reward source is network staking, delivered custodially with a commission taken off the top. Deploy's agents pursue a different return source — perpetual funding spreads or directional trading — from a wallet you hold, with no subscription, management fee, or commission on deposits.
Sign in with email or Google and fund the wallet with USDC. The keys are yours and exportable from the start, so stepping away never depends on an exchange processing your request. Review what the session key permits before approving it, and revoke it yourself at any point.
When should you choose Deploy Finance or Coinbase Earn?
Choose Deploy Finance when:
- You want to keep custody of your assets rather than hold them at an exchange.
- You do not want a commission deducted from your returns.
- You are specifically evaluating a market-neutral funding strategy or a separately defined directional strategy.
- You want the ability to revoke access yourself rather than rely on exchange-level account controls.
Choose Coinbase Earn when:
- You are comfortable with custodial exchange staking and its commission structure.
- You want staking rewards on an asset you already hold at Coinbase without moving it to a separate wallet.
- You prioritize the simplicity of an existing exchange account over holding your own keys.
Different custody models: Coinbase Earn is custodial — Coinbase holds the assets. Deploy Finance is self-custodial — you hold the wallet, and the agent only receives a revocable trading permission. No integration between the products is implied.
Choose the approach that matches the job
Choose Coinbase Earn if you are comfortable with custodial staking and its commission. Choose Deploy Finance if you want to keep custody of your assets while a defined agent trades a strategy on your behalf, with no commission on your results.
Two ways to use Deploy Finance
Income: Funding Rates
Choose this agent if you want funding-spread yield with no commission taken out before it reaches you.
Superstar
Choose this agent for a directional stance across spot, perpetuals, and HIP-3 markets, rather than staking rewards on an asset you already hold.
Learn more
Start with Deploy Finance
Create a self-custodial Deploy Finance wallet and review the live agents.