Shopify announced that it will launch a USDC stablecoin payment function. The related function developed in collaboration with Coinbase will be piloted in some merchants in the United States and Europe at the end of June, and then gradually rolled out to all platform merchants. This function is enabled by default, and merchants can choose to turn it off manually.
Shopify has collaborated with Coinbase to develop a smart contract payment protocol based on the Base blockchain to support USDC payments. At the same time, it has integrated with payment service provider Stripe to abstract the complexity of crypto payments from the merchant experience, making it more convenient for merchants to accept USDC payments. Consumers can make Payments using the USDC stablecoin through Shopify Payments and Shop Pay. By default, merchants will receive payments in local fiat currency, or they can choose to retain USDC directly. Furthermore, Tobi Lutke, the CEO of Shopify, also mentioned that in the future, the platform will support buyer incentives, such as offering a 1% cashback for USDC transactions.
This move is one of the most significant applications of stablecoins in real business, marking the shift of the mainstream retail industry towards a blockchain-based payment track. However, Shopify’s decision to support USDC only on Base, the Ethereum Layer 2 network developed by Coinbase, has drawn criticism from some leaders in the crypto infrastructure, who believe that broader interoperability should be supported. Mert Mumtaz, the CEO of Helius, a Solana development company, questioned the logic of restricting the use of a single chain. He believes that the platform should support all chains supported by Stripe through USDC to increase access, reduce friction, and enable more people to participate in decentralized finance.
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