Mastercard And Shopify Drive Crypto Payments Mainstream
Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke, center wearing hat, is celebrated as he rings the New York Stock Exchange ... More opening bell, marking the Canadian company's IPO, Thursday, May 21, 2015. Shopify Inc. works with merchants who want to offer their own online checkout services, providing a platform for small- and mid-size businesses that sell products online. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Two major partnerships this month opened blockchain commerce to billions of consumers. Coinbase's integration with Shopify and Chainlink's collaboration with Mastercard represent moves toward the same goal: making crypto payments as seamless as traditional transactions and driving the crypto market toward mainstream payment adoption.
As the Genius Act, built around stablecoin frameworks, passed the Senate, Coinbase shares rallied 16%, and USDC issuer Circle's surged 25%. This confirmed expectations that regulatory clarity would accelerate institutional adoption, particularly for the compliant USDC stablecoin. USDC processes over $1 trillion in monthly payment volume globally across 21 blockchain networks, with circulation growing 78% year-over-year, as Shopify noted in its announcement. Starting in June, merchants can accept USDC as a Shopify Payments option with 24/7 settlement on Coinbase's Base blockchain. Shopify holds a 30% share of the e-commerce platform market and serves over 700 million customers, making it the number one platform globally.
The partnership removes technical barriers from accepting crypto payments by operating within existing Shopify payment flows and handling blockchain complexity behind the scenes. Merchants can now toggle on USDC payments and then receive fiat currency without needing to understand wallet management or private key security.
'Coins like USDC are especially appealing to buyers because they're stable compared to other crypto assets. We've had customers pay with USDC even before Shopify's official integration via BitPay. With this new update, the checkout experience will be much smoother, which I think will encourage even more adoption,' Phurba Sherpa, director of e-commerce at Wrist Aficionado, told me in an interview.
In a parallel move this week, Mastercard's 3.5 billion cardholders gained access to direct cryptocurrency purchases on decentralized exchanges through a platform called Swapper Finance, powered by Chainlink. Consumers who want to buy crypto can do so using their existing Mastercard without needing separate crypto wallets or exchanges.
"This is what crypto looks like when it's ready for the real world," Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard's executive vice president of blockchain and digital assets, said in the announcement.
Real-World Benefits Boost Merchant Interest
Early adopters mention benefits from crypto-operated transactions, such as cost savings, faster global settlement, and fraud protection. While traditional credit card processing fees often exceed 3% per transaction, stablecoin payments cost less than 1%, with transparent blockchain network fees.
Cross-border transactions settle instantly instead of waiting several business days through bank intermediaries. For international e-commerce, this eliminates currency conversion fees ranging from 2-5% of transaction value.
Laura El, founder of fine art business Stellar Villa, said to me in a written response: "I've been able to collect payment from buyers around the world in a matter of seconds. Some of my international clients previously preferred wire transfers, and banks typically charged me $15 to $20 just to receive those. When I accept USDC payments directly to my digital wallet, the only cost I incur is a small transaction fee, which on networks like Base or Solana can be just fractions of a penny."
Payment adoption has been on the radar long before Coinbase and Mastercard, but never at this scale. In 2023, Visa ran pilot programs sending USDC through Solana to payment processors Worldpay and Nuvei. Retailers have also experimented over the years — in 2019, major chains like Whole Foods and Barnes & Noble tested accepting crypto through the Flexa network's SPEDN app.
This time, partnerships are propelled by solid ground with recognition from finance giants. While some consumers still associate cryptocurrency with volatility and complexity, the new infrastructure in place may position 2025 as the year crypto transitions from alternative asset to mainstream payment method. The success of these moves will determine whether digital assets achieve the mainstream adoption that has been elusive despite years of attempts.
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