Shopify and Coinbase’s stablecoin payment protocol tops $42M in volume on Base

The Commerce Payments Protocol has processed more than 448,000 payments, allowing eligible Shopify merchants to accept stablecoins without managing crypto balances.

Thu 29 Oct 2026 · 13:21 EDT · 3 min read

In Ecosystem

The Commerce Payments Protocol developed by Shopify and Coinbase has surpassed $42 million in net settled payment volume on Base, highlighting growing use of stablecoin infrastructure designed for everyday online purchases.

The protocol recorded more than 448,000 payments and approximately $42.1 million in net settled volume as of October 2, according to data from the SeaLaunch dashboard on Dune Analytics cited in a Base case study.

The figures represent activity across the Commerce Payments Protocol rather than transactions originating exclusively from Shopify stores.

Developed by Shopify and Coinbase, the protocol enables eligible merchants to accept USDC through Shopify Payments while receiving local currency through their existing payout arrangements.

Customers can pay using supported crypto wallets without holding ETH for network fees, as Coinbase Payments sponsors the gas costs.

The integration is designed to bring stablecoin transactions into familiar ecommerce workflows, addressing challenges such as delayed order fulfillment, cancellations and refunds.

Shopify and Coinbase bring traditional checkout features onchain

Unlike standard cryptocurrency transfers, which generally move funds directly between wallets, the Commerce Payments Protocol introduces a payment authorization and capture system similar to conventional card transactions.

According to Base’s technical documentation, the protocol uses smart contracts to place customers’ authorized USDC payments into escrow until merchants are ready to complete the transaction.

Once an order is confirmed, the merchant captures the payment, releasing the funds from escrow. Orders can also be canceled before capture or refunded afterward.

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The system allows merchants to manage inventory changes, fulfillment delays and other adjustments without requiring an entirely new payment process.

Buyers approve the payment terms in advance, while an operator submits the blockchain transaction. The smart contract prevents operators from changing authorized payment details, including the recipient and maximum payment amount.

Customers can also reclaim uncaptured funds after an authorization expires.

“Shopify worked side by side with Coinbase to build payment infrastructure that could bring stablecoins into everyday commerce,” said Nick Chen, Director of Product at Shopify.

“The Base team brought deep expertise so payments can operate at scale onchain, along with a collaborative drive to build something merchants can rely on.”

Stablecoin payments eliminate customer gas fees

The Commerce Payments Protocol runs on Base, Coinbase’s Ethereum layer 2 network, using Coinbase Payments to execute transactions and cover blockchain gas fees.

According to Shopify’s documentation, customers pay no gas fees when completing eligible USDC purchases, although standard merchant processing fees and eligibility requirements still apply.

Merchants can receive payouts in their local currencies without directly managing cryptocurrency balances, reducing the operational requirements associated with accepting digital assets.

The arrangement also allows businesses to offer stablecoin payments alongside their existing payment methods rather than operating separate crypto checkout systems.

The protocol is open source, allowing other commerce platforms and payment providers to integrate its payment infrastructure.

In a joint engineering announcement, Shopify and Coinbase said the system was designed to handle the more complex requirements of commercial transactions while preserving the settlement and programmability benefits of blockchain technology.

The protocol supports six core payment operations, including authorization, capture, direct charges, cancellations, customer reclamation and refunds.

Its design could allow other platforms to build payment applications that use stablecoins without requiring merchants or consumers to interact directly with blockchain transaction mechanics.

The integration reflects a broader push by payment companies and ecommerce platforms to make stablecoins usable for commercial transactions rather than primarily for cryptocurrency trading and transfers.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Kaye Quema. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.