Coinbase Gives Platforms 24/7 USDC Settlements—Faster, Cheaper, Borderless

Coinbase Payments Launches Full-Stack USDC Engine to Obliterate Commerce Friction

Crypto exchange Coinbase (Nasdaq: COIN) announced on June 18 its new solution to simplify stablecoin payments: Coinbase Payments. This full-stack system centers on USD Coin (USDC), providing instant, 24/7 payments without requiring blockchain expertise. Already live with Shopify, it targets payment service providers, marketplaces, and e-commerce platforms.

Coinbase underscored stablecoins’ rising importance, reporting $30 trillion in settlements last year, tripling from the previous year. “Coinbase Payments is the first full-stack stablecoin payment solution built for commerce platforms at scale. It abstracts away the blockchain so you can offer crypto-native payments without needing crypto-native teams,” the company explained, elaborating:

We built it to power seamless USDC payments with faster settlement, lower fees, and global reach.

The system runs on Coinbase’s Base network, ensuring rapid, low-cost transactions. Coinbase Payments includes Stablecoin Checkout for wallet-native consumer payments, the Ecommerce Engine for merchant APIs handling key payment functions, and the Commerce Payments Protocol for secure, onchain transactions with features like escrow and refunds.

With Shopify’s integration, merchants can accept USDC globally with no added setup. Coinbase invites other platforms to join, offering global reach, cost savings, fiat offramps, and upcoming programmable rewards.

In addition to its payments innovation, Coinbase is advancing USDC’s role in regulated U.S. futures markets. Its subsidiary, Coinbase Derivatives LLC, is collaborating with Nodal Clear to incorporate USDC as eligible collateral for futures trading, marking the first regulated use of USDC as collateral. This initiative operates under the oversight of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), with Coinbase Custody Trust serving as custodian.