Shopify is rolling out support for USDC payments, allowing consumers to pay with stablecoins via Shopify Payments and Shop Pay.
The feature, developed in partnership with Coinbase and launching on the exchange’s Base blockchain, is available in early access starting this week and will expand to more merchants over the coming months.
New payment rails
According to Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, the integration is powered by a new smart contract-based payment protocol designed specifically for e-commerce.
The system enables customers to pay in Circle’s stablecoin USDC, while merchants receive payouts in local fiat currency by default unless they opt to retain USDC directly.
Stripe supported the backend integration, helping Shopify abstract away the complexity of crypto payments from the merchant experience. Lütke also noted that the platform will support buyer incentives such as 1% cashback on USDC transactions in the future.
He wrote:
“It’s all transparent to merchants. They will simply get normal local currency payouts the same as usual (unless you choose to keep it as USDC).”
The move marks one of the most significant real-world commerce deployments of stablecoins to date, signaling a broader shift toward blockchain-based payment rails in mainstream retail.
Limited chain support sparks criticism
Despite the excitement surrounding the announcement, Shopify’s decision to support USDC exclusively on Base, an Ethereum (ETH) layer-2 network developed by Coinbase, drew criticism from some crypto infrastructure leaders who favor broader interoperability.
Mert Mumtaz, CEO of Solana-based development firm Helius, questioned the logic of restricting access to a single chain.
He wrote in a reply to Lütke’s post:
“What’s the point of narrowing your top of funnel?. You should support all chains that Stripe via USDC supports.”
Mumtaz’s comments echo a recurring tension in the digital payments ecosystem, where platforms are increasingly expected to adopt chain-agnostic strategies.
Developers argue that supporting multiple blockchains would increase access, reduce friction, and enable greater participation in decentralized finance, especially given the composability of stablecoins like USDC across networks.
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