Y Combinator, Coinbase, and Base Launch “Fintech 3.0” Push

Y Combinator, the Silicon Valley incubator known for backing startups like Airbnb, Coinbase, and Stripe, has partnered with Base and Coinbase Ventures to foster the next wave of “Fintech 3.0” companies. According to a blog post released Tuesday, the initiative aims to drive the financial industry further on-chain by supporting startups building decentralized finance solutions.

Applications are now open, with the firms highlighting opportunities in areas such as expanding stablecoins beyond the U.S. dollar into local currencies, tokenizing assets like stocks and credit markets, and developing consumer-facing tools including AI-powered financial agents. These themes reflect growing demand for innovative financial technologies designed to reach global audiences.

Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network, has been at the center of this movement. Recently, it partnered with Shopify to enable global USDC payments, a move that underscores its commitment to mainstreaming blockchain-powered finance. “Our mission at Base is to build a global economy that increases innovation, creativity, and freedom,” the company noted. “We need more founders to build on-chain businesses so anyone, anywhere can participate in the global economy.”

The timing coincides with key regulatory developments in the U.S. Lawmakers are advancing the GENIUS Act, designed to create clear federal rules for stablecoin issuers, while continuing work on broader crypto market structure legislation. By combining startup acceleration with clearer policy frameworks, Y Combinator, Coinbase Ventures, and Base hope to lay the foundation for Fintech 3.0—where decentralized, tokenized, and AI-enhanced systems define the future of finance.