Payments Protocol by Coinbase – Shopify’s USDC Activity Still Nascent, but Trending Upward
June 2024 – present
A joint effort by Shopify, Coinbase and Stripe that began in June 2023 enables merchants on the Shopify platform to accept USD‑Coin (USDC) payments that settle on Base, the Ethereum‑layer‑2 network launched by Coinbase. The settlement layer is powered by the open‑source Commerce Payments Protocol, co‑developed by Shopify and Coinbase.
Early‑stage adoption
Blockchain analytics firm growthepie tracks activity across the protocol and reports that, since the integration went live in June, roughly $1.2 million in USDC has been transferred on Base through the protocol. The volume reflects transactions from about 3,200 distinct wallet addresses interacting with 5,700 merchants that have adopted the solution.
The figures capture activity from a broader ecosystem of companies that have implemented the protocol, not solely Shopify stores, but they give a glimpse of how the rail is being used in practice.
Volume trajectory
While the cumulative number is modest compared with Shopify’s overall scale—over 5.5 million merchants and $300 billion in gross merchandise volume (GMV) in 2024—the data show a clear acceleration. Approximately $750 k of the $1.2 m was processed in the most recent two‑month window, suggesting the network is moving beyond an initial “curiosity” phase into a more regular utility.
Growth‑stage dynamics are typical for new payment rails: early adopters experiment, followed by a rapid uptick as confidence builds. Lorenz Lehmann, growthepie’s research lead, notes that the recent surge aligns with a “slow‑then‑fast” compounding curve often observed in crypto‑based services.
Repeat usage remains limited
Despite the upward trend, repeat transactions are scarce. A “returning customer” in growthepie’s metrics is a wallet that makes a payment on a different day after its first transaction. Most wallets in the dataset have only a single transaction, indicating that the protocol is still in a trial‑and‑error phase for both merchants and shoppers. The “ghost‑town” risk—low ongoing engagement—is a known challenge for nascent fintech tools.
Industry perspective
A Coinbase spokesperson, speaking to The Defiant, described the current data as “a piece of the puzzle” and emphasized that the rollout is still in progress. The spokesperson highlighted that merchants are increasingly leveraging crypto for cross‑border payments and that additional operators are slated to join the ecosystem.
In the broader market, a recent S&P Global Ratings report noted that stablecoins account for roughly 5 % of the US‑dollar‑pegged stablecoin supply that is actually used for private‑sector payments, underscoring the early nature of stablecoin‑based commerce.
Key takeaways
- Initial volume is modest – $1.2 m USDC processed across ~3,200 customers and 5,700 merchants since June 2023.
- Strong recent acceleration – About 60 % of total volume occurred in the last two months, indicating growing merchant confidence.
- Low repeat usage – Most wallet addresses transact only once, a typical pattern for pilot‑stage payment rails.
- Scaling potential – The open‑source Commerce Payments Protocol could expand beyond Shopify as more partners integrate, potentially lifting transaction counts.
- Contextual market share – Stablecoin payments remain a small slice of overall payment activity, but the partnership signals major e‑commerce platforms are testing the waters.
Outlook
The partnership between Shopify, Coinbase and Stripe represents one of the most visible experiments in bringing stablecoin payments to mainstream e‑commerce. While current numbers are tiny relative to Shopify’s $300 billion GMV, the steepening volume curve suggests the protocol could achieve meaningful traction as merchant education improves and cross‑border use cases materialize. Observers will be watching for continued volume growth, higher repeat‑transaction rates, and additional integrations that could amplify the impact of the Commerce Payments Protocol in the broader DeFi and crypto payment ecosystem.
Source: https://thedefiant.io/news/infrastructure/coinbase-shopify-process-usd1-million-usdc-since-june-growthepie
