On January 18, Coinbase, the US largest cryptocurrency exchange , announced a partnership with Mastercard, a global payment giant, to classify NFTs as digital goods in order to allow a wider group of consumers to buy non-fungible tokens. With the announcement, Coinbase is soon going to transform its payment method using Mastercard cards.
Coinbase recently announced ‘Coinbase NFT’, a peer-to-peer marketplace, which enables minting, buying, showcasing and discovering NFTs easier. The partnership with Mastercard will enable Coinbase to offer a better customer experience on the Coinbase NFT marketplace. The exchange is working to find ways to bring such opportunities to the wider ecosystem through Mastercard’s global network. Coinbase applauds Mastercard’s leadership on this matter to make it as easy as possible to purchase and sell NFTs.
Prakash Hariramani, the Head of Payments and Financial Hub at Coinbase, said that Coinbase’s mission is to increase economic freedom around the globe. He stated that by enabling more users to join the creator economy and profit from their work, NFTs have a vital role to play in this mission. However, he identified that buying an NFT remains a complex experience for many users. He disclosed that Coinbase is working on simplifying the user experience to allow more people to join the NFTs community. Hariramani elaborated that in the method the exchange used to help millions of people access Bitcoin in an easy and trusted manner, it is working on doing the same for NFTs.
Coinbase Is Doubling Down on NFTs Efforts
The development by Coinbase to embrace partnership with Mastercard comes at a time when NFT trading activity has been increasing substantially. Last year, NFTs demand skyrocketed significantly with around 280,000 unique sellers and buyers trending by the end of August. In October last year, Coinbase announced the launch of its Coinbase NFT marketplace to allow users to mint, buy and showcase NFTs. The initial launch supports Ethereum-based ERC-721 and ERC-1155 standards, but the exchange has plans to enable multi-chain support in the near future.
NFT artists have revolutionized the traditional art world. Industries like music, gaming and fashion are recognizing the power of NFTs to unlock new forms of creativity and ownership. Therefore, Coinbase is making NFTs more accessible by developing user-friendly interfaces that put the complexity behind the scenes. The crypto exchange added social features that open new avenues for discovery and conversation. Coinbase remains dedicated to growing the creator community exponentially, which is a win-win for artists and fans. In this way, the Coinbase NFT is positioning itself as a peer-to-peer marketplace whose filters are based on the users’ interests.
