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Even at the height of cryptocurrency value a few months ago, it was difficult to actually buy anything with it. Most retailers don't accept virtual money because it's disruptive and slow, but Coinbase is hoping to change that. The popular crypto substitution has released a new product called Coinbase Commerce, a payment system that helps retailers accept cryptocurrency payments from customer wallets.

Coinbase Commerce is designed to integrate with a retailer's online checkout organization or e-commerce platform. You simply need an email accost and phone number to prepare a Commerce account, and y'all're set up to accept cryptocurrency as payment. Withal, yous tin only accept the cryptocurrencies Coinbase supports. That means Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, and Litecoin. It also requires the utilize of 2-cistron authentication to secure a merchant account.

When payment is requested via Coinbase Commerce, the system calculates the necessary corporeality of cryptocurrency based on the "existent" price in local currency (information technology's supported worldwide). The customer is given a wallet accost to send payment with a 15-minute countdown before the transaction is void. Since copying a wallet address is oftentimes a pain, the system tin just show a QR code that users can scan with their wallet app.

The funds are deposited directly into the retailer's wallet—presumably afterward Coinbase takes a pocket-size cut. The wallet is controlled by the retailer, though. There'southward too a handy dashboard interface that lists the wallet balance in all the supported cryptocurrencies. Coinbase says it's working to add more features to the platform over time.

Coinbase Commerce goes a long way to making it easier for businesses to accept virtual currency, but information technology doesn't address the underlying bug. In the instance of Bitcoin, in that location are rather large transaction fees. Those fees become to Bitcoin mining operations that verify transactions on the blockchain. These fees are often higher than what yous'd pay with a credit menu, and they change rapidly over time.

The primary issue with all cryptocurrency is simply that information technology'due south volatile. A retailer might change the equivalent of $x in Bitcoin for an item, only the next twenty-four hour period that Bitcoin is just worth $8. For some businesses, that could be the entire profit margin. At the aforementioned fourth dimension, they might stop upward with more coin if the value of cryptocurrency increases. It's ever a take a chance, and that might not be a good thing for all businesses. However, at least someone'due south trying to make cryptocurrency easier to use.