Shopify to enable USDC payments via Base across its Checkout ecosystem

Shopify is rolling out enactment for USDC payments, allowing consumers to wage with stablecoins via Shopify Payments and Shop Pay.

The feature, developed successful concern with Coinbase and launching connected the exchange’s Base blockchain, is disposable successful aboriginal entree starting this week and volition grow to much merchants implicit the coming months.

New outgo rails

According to Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, the integration is powered by a caller astute contract-based outgo protocol designed specifically for e-commerce.

The strategy enables customers to wage successful Circle’s stablecoin USDC, portion merchants person payouts successful section fiat currency by default unless they opt to clasp USDC directly.

Stripe supported the backend integration, helping Shopify abstract distant the complexity of crypto payments from the merchant experience. Lütke besides noted that the level volition enactment purchaser incentives specified arsenic 1% cashback connected USDC transactions successful the future.

He wrote:

“It’s each transparent to merchants. They volition simply get mean section currency payouts the aforesaid arsenic accustomed (unless you take to support it arsenic USDC).”

The determination marks 1 of the astir important real-world commerce deployments of stablecoins to date, signaling a broader displacement toward blockchain-based outgo rails successful mainstream retail.

Limited concatenation enactment sparks criticism

Despite the excitement surrounding the announcement, Shopify’s determination to enactment USDC exclusively connected Base, an Ethereum (ETH) layer-2 web developed by Coinbase, drew disapproval from immoderate crypto infrastructure leaders who favour broader interoperability.

Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana-based improvement steadfast Helius, questioned the logic of restricting entree to a azygous chain.

He wrote successful a reply to Lütke’s post:

“What’s the constituent of narrowing your apical of funnel?. You should enactment each chains that Stripe via USDC supports.”

Mumtaz’s comments echo a recurring hostility successful the integer payments ecosystem, wherever platforms are progressively expected to follow chain-agnostic strategies.

Developers reason that supporting aggregate blockchains would summation access, trim friction, and alteration greater information successful decentralized finance, particularly fixed the composability of stablecoins similar USDC crossed networks.

The station Shopify to alteration USDC payments via Base crossed its Checkout ecosystem appeared archetypal connected CryptoSlate.