Today Coinbase officially announced that the stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) has been added to the Coinbase Commerce service as a payment method.
Coinbase Commerce is the service offered by the exchange for those who, for example, want to receive online payments in cryptocurrencies. Among other things, it is possible to integrate this payment gateway with the main platforms for the creation of e-commerce websites, such as Shopify, WooCommerce Prestashop and other CMS, or embed a box within any website to allow cryptocurrency payments.
Up until yesterday, Coinbase Commerce allowed accepting payments only in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum or Litecoin, but now it also supports USD Coin.
USDC is the stablecoin of Coinbase and Circle, a company in which also Goldman Sachs has invested. The value fluctuates always around 1 dollar and has a market capitalisation of about 350 million dollars, well below the almost 3 billion dollars of Tether dollar (USDT).
With this decision by Coinbase, it is possible to use their service not only to accept volatile cryptocurrencies, but also a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, which has a fixed value corresponding to that of the US dollar. In short, it is a kind of crypto-dollar, which is transacted using cryptocurrency technology, but the value is anchored to the fiat currency of reference.
According to the company, accepting the stablecoin pegged to the US dollar will offer traders many of the benefits guaranteed by cryptocurrencies, while maintaining a stable price. In addition, there is no commission on transactions, no chargeback and full control of funds.
For example, unlike credit card payments, merchants can accept USDC payments without geographical limitations and without the need for a traditional bank account.
The Coinbase Commerce payment gateway is quite easy to install on supported ecommerce platforms, and by doing so it is possible to start accepting cryptocurrencies in just a few minutes. For those who were already using it, no action is required: payments in USDC should be activated automatically.
