Coinbase Wallet is gearing up to launch a new “Tap to Pay” feature, aiming to position itself as a formidable competitor to established payment platforms like Cash App, Venmo, and PayPal. This feature, which is currently in an "internal alpha" phase, promises to offer a faster, more efficient, and globally accessible tap-to-pay experience for cryptocurrency users, with a full rollout expected in the near future.
Jesse Pollak, the lead of Coinbase Wallet and the founder of Ethereum’s Layer 2 solution, Base, revealed the upcoming feature at the DevCon conference in Bangkok on November 13, 2024. According to Pollak, “Tap to Pay” will be particularly beneficial for merchants who are already using traditional payment platforms. By offering a more seamless and cost-effective solution, Coinbase Wallet aims to replace or complement the current payment methods that dominate the market.
Pollak emphasized that Coinbase Wallet's "Tap to Pay" will provide a significant advantage by creating a more accessible and global payment solution. He explained that the service would work in every country worldwide, making it a practical option for merchants in markets where traditional payment methods like PayPal or Venmo may be less efficient or limited.
“Tap to pay is going to be huge, particularly for the long tail of merchants" Pollak stated. “We can give them a better, faster, more global tap-to-pay experience that will work in every country around the world. I think it’s pretty huge.”
The feature will allow users to make payments directly from their Coinbase Wallet via their smartphones, similar to how NFC (Near Field Communication) payments work today. This will enable users to pay for goods and services using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and stablecoins like USDC, all with the same ease as making a traditional tap-to-pay transaction with a credit or debit card.
A key component of Coinbase Wallet’s broader vision is integrating user bank accounts directly into the wallet, allowing for easier conversions between crypto and fiat currencies. Pollak outlined how this integration would enable users to get paid in stablecoins, such as USD Coin (USDC) or Tether (USDT), which could then be easily converted to local currencies.
“We want people to be moving their saving, their spending, their investing on-chain,” Pollak explained. “It’s going to give better rates, better interest, better economic outcomes, better outcomes for merchants because it’s a faster, better, cheaper, more global economy that works for everyone.”
As more merchants adopt crypto payments, Coinbase believes the financial ecosystem will shift towards a more decentralized and efficient system, benefiting both consumers and businesses. Pollak emphasized the potential advantages for merchants, such as lower transaction fees and quicker settlement times.
In addition to its new “Tap to Pay” feature, Pollak discussed advancements with Base, the Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solution that he founded. One of the significant challenges that Base is working to address is the interoperability issue between various Ethereum Layer 2s and the Ethereum mainnet.
Pollak believes Base is close to solving this issue within the next six months. Currently, Ethereum’s Layer 2 solutions, like Base, Arbitrum One, and Optimism, are fragmented, and there is a lack of seamless interoperability between these networks. However, Base is working on two important specifications to solve this problem: ERC-7683, which introduces an interoperability standard for cross-chain transfers, and RIP-7755, which enables trustless execution between chains.
“These two standards will work together to basically allow you to have a wallet that can execute across every Layer 2,” Pollak stated. “It will no longer be all these fragmented Layer 2s. It’ll instead be your wallet to let you work everywhere.”
Pollak also expressed optimism that Base’s interoperability solutions would open up new use cases across Ethereum’s Layer 2 ecosystem, which currently secures over $42 billion in total value, according to L2BEAT data.
The long-term vision for Base is to expand beyond Ethereum Layer 2 solutions and facilitate interoperability with various Layer 1 blockchains. Once Base achieves seamless interoperability across Layer 2 solutions, it plans to extend these capabilities to Layer 1 blockchains, enabling users to store their assets on Base and transact across multiple chains with ease.
“Once we have this problem solved within Ethereum’s ecosystem, we’ll expand to all the other Layer 1s,” Pollak said. “Then users will be able to store their assets on Base and transact everywhere.”
Coinbase Wallet’s “Tap to Pay” feature and Base’s progress on Layer 2 interoperability are part of a broader push by Coinbase to integrate cryptocurrencies into everyday life, making digital assets more practical and accessible for the global market. By offering users a seamless, fast, and affordable way to make payments, Coinbase aims to capitalize on the growing trend of crypto adoption, especially in markets where traditional payment methods are struggling to keep up with the demands of modern commerce.
With its focus on user experience, global accessibility, and interoperability, Coinbase Wallet’s upcoming features could reshape the way merchants and consumers interact with cryptocurrencies. The company’s ambitions to provide a faster, cheaper, and more efficient payment system align with its broader goal of building a more decentralized and accessible financial system.
Coinbase Wallet’s upcoming “Tap to Pay” feature represents a significant step toward making cryptocurrencies more mainstream, enabling users to pay for goods and services with ease. As the company continues to innovate with features like stablecoin integration and cross-chain interoperability through Base, it is positioning itself as a key player in the rapidly growing crypto payments market.
The success of Coinbase Wallet’s “Tap to Pay” feature will depend on how quickly it can gain adoption among both merchants and consumers, but the future looks bright for crypto payments as the industry continues to evolve.
November 2024, Cryptoniteuae