Shopify Launches Early Access to USDC Stablecoin Payments on Base

Global e-commerce leader, Shopify, has begun rolling out early access to stablecoin payments using Circle’s $USDC in partnership with major U.S. crypto exchange, Coinbase.

According to an announcement made, Shopify plans to fully integrate USDC payments later this year through its payment stack, Shopify Payments and Shop Pay. The feature will run on Coinbase’s Ethereum layer-2 network, Base.

As part of this early rollout, a select number of merchants have access to the full product starting in June 2025, according to a Shopify spokesperson.

“We believe stablecoins are a natural fit for internet transactions,” Shopify CEO, Tobi Lutke posted on X.

“We worked with Coinbase to build the commerce payment protocol smart contract that powers this launch.”

The USDC integration will also support incentives like 1% cashback in local currency payouts in future updates, Lutke added.

The Shopify spokesperson emphasized that this is both a technical rollout and a strategic collaboration with the Base team.

“To pay with USDC, buyers will need a crypto wallet,” the spokesperson noted. “They can choose from hundreds of supported wallets.”

Why Shopify Chose Base

Coinbase’s Base blockchain currently ranks as the fourth-largest network for USDC, with Base-issued USDC representing about 6% of the stablecoin’s total circulating supply of $61 billion, based on data from USDC Transparency and CoinGecko.

Built by Coinbase, Base is promoted as an “ultra-fast and affordable network” that is well-suited for global money movement, according to Shopify. The company cited Base’s fast, cheap, and secure transactions, as well as its 24/7 availability, as key benefits.

While Shopify has not confirmed whether it will support other USDC chains or additional crypto assets, the exclusive support for Base led some users on X to question the decision.

“Why limit the top of your funnel? You should support all chains that Stripe via USDC supports,” one commenter wrote.

Shopify’s Crypto Journey

This isn’t Shopify’s first step into crypto. The company has supported Bitcoin payments via third-party gateway integrations since 2013. At the time, it announced that all 75,000 merchants on its platform could begin accepting Bitcoin.

According to Shopify’s Help Center, merchants today can integrate with at least nine different crypto payment providers, including BitPay, Solana Pay, and others, allowing acceptance of a broad range of digital assets.

Still, Shopify notes that crypto payments may be slower during high-demand sales:

“Due to longer settlement times, cryptocurrency transactions can lead to overselling during flash sales. For best performance, use direct methods like Shopify Payments,” the help article advises.

Shopify and Coinbase have collaborated before. Both companies were part of Meta’s now-defunct stablecoin initiative, Diem (originally Libra), during 2019 and 2020. The project faced regulatory hurdles and was officially shut down in 2022.

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