Coinbase Debuts Stablecoin Payment Stack Following Shopify Partnership

Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) is venturing further into the global payments business with the launch of Coinbase Payments, the company said in a Wednesday blog post.

The service, built on Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network Base, is already live with ecommerce platform Shopify and was designed to bring stablecoin payments to merchants, supporting around-the-clock USDC transactions without requiring any blockchain know-how, the blog post said.

Coinbase shares rallied following the announcement and were up 16% during the session. Circle (CRCL), issuer of the USDC stablecoin, also surged 25% to a fresh record.

The company's move aligns with the growing trend of stablecoins reshaping the global payments market. Payments companies such as Stripe and PayPal debut products that use blockchain tech under the hood for payments. Meanwhile, crypto native companies like USDC issuer Circle with its payment network are also entering the increasingly competitive field.

It's still an enticing opportunity: Coinbase said that stablecoins facilitated $30 trillion in transactions last year, tripling the volume year-over-year.

The new service integrates three modular components: The Stablecoin Checkout lets customers pay using wallets like MetaMask, Phantom, and Coinbase Wallet in a gasless, browser-native experience. The Ecommerce Engine gives platforms an API to handle key functions like authorization, refunds and ledgering. And the Commerce Payments Protocol executes transactions through smart contracts, handling mechanics like delayed capture or onchain escrow.

In practice, this means merchants can accept USDC from global customers at any time of day, without any additional setup and lower transaction costs. Coinbase says its tools replicate the feel of traditional payment rails—settlement, dispute handling, and recurring billing—while using onchain logic for speed and efficiency.

UPDATE (June 18, 18:55 UTC): Adds Coinbase, Circle price action.