Coinbase launches stablecoin payment stack with USDC checkout targeting commerce giants

Coinbase officially launched Coinbase Payments on June 18, a three-layer platform that enables commerce providers to add USDC checkout without running their blockchain infrastructure.

The stack begins with Stablecoin Checkout, a wallet-native interface that supports hundreds of wallets, delivers gas-free transactions, and records payments in USDC. 

Beneath it, an E-commerce Engine exposes application programming interfaces for authorization, capture, refunds, ledgering, and subscriptions, allowing payment service providers to integrate stablecoin flows into existing merchant dashboards. 

At the base, the Commerce Payments Protocol executes smart contract escrow and settlement on Base, Coinbase’s layer-2 network, in sub-second blocks. 

The company stated that the modular design eliminates the need for “crypto-native teams” and can settle global transactions at a lower cost than traditional card networks.

Early production use at Shopify

Shopify activated the stack last week for an early-access cohort of merchants, marking one of the first retail deployments of USDC at scale. 

Buyers pay in USDC, and Shopify receives fiat payouts unless a merchant opts to retain the stablecoin. 

Stripe helped abstract the crypto logic from sellers’ workflows, and Shopify plans to add 1% USDC cashback incentives for consumers. 

Coinbase stated that Stablecoin Checkout handles consumer interaction, the E-commerce Engine manages merchant controls through APIs, and the protocol layer facilitates smart-contract escrow and settlement behind the scenes.

Market context and adoption target

According to Coinbase, more than half of Fortune 500 firms are experimenting with on-chain tools while roughly one-third of small businesses already accept some form of crypto. 

By making stablecoin rails accessible through a single integration, the exchange aims to position USDC as a default internet payment method.

Additionally, platforms that onboard can add off-ramps to local currencies, audit trails via open-source contracts, and programmable reward systems in a forthcoming update.

Coinbase invited payment processors, marketplaces, and e-commerce software vendors to integrate immediately, noting that the same stack powering Shopify’s rollout is now available through the company’s developer portal.

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