Coinbase Taps MasterCard For Upcoming NFT Marketplace Support

The metaverse might be the next best thing for payment providers and credit card firms like MasterCard. Coinbase is adding another heavy-hitting name to it’s list of partners across the crypto exchange’s umbrella, and will look to leverage MasterCard’s resources to reduce friction in the onboarding and fiat onramping process for consumers.

What seems like positive news for NFT consumers is being approaching with a hefty dose of cautiousness from the broader NFT community, as many vocal NFT advocates express concern at making the buying process too easy – leaving casual consumers less detail-oriented and more likely to get burned.

MasterCard, Coinbase, And The Push & Pull Of Retail Consumers…

Coinbase continues to look to build excitement around it’s upcoming NFT marketplace, and this latest deal will allow NFT marketplace consumers on the platform to utilize their MasterCard debit and credit cards to make purchases. The exchange is the latest of a number of different crypto-first firms that MasterCard has been pairing up with, which includes the likes of Bakkt, Gemini and more.

We’re working to make #NFTs more accessible because we believe tech should be inclusive. Excited to announce that we’re partnering with @coinbase to let people use their Mastercard cards to make purchases on Coinbase’s upcoming NFT marketplace. https://t.co/T6QpSIaKtK

— Mastercard News (@MastercardNews) January 18, 2022

In recent months, MasterCard alluded to increased collaboration in the crypto space – and we’re quickly seeing that come to life. It’s not just MasterCard either, as primary competitor Visa has been aggressive in the space as well. The news comes simultaneous to a new Bloomberg report that U.S. retailers are asking regulators to examine Visa and Mastercard fees.

Coinbase continues to see growth as it looks towards it's NFT marketplace launch, however in the past month, it's stock has continued to dip alongside the broader market. | Source: NASDAQ: COIN on TradingView.com

Is ‘What’s Good For The Coinbase, Good For The Community’?

What’s good for the goose, is good for the gander? No two on-boarding experiences for new NFT users are the same, and the NFT community should be arguably be celebrating streamlined ease-of-payment for NFTs in general – in fact, the lack of streamlined payment integration has often been a vocal criticism of NFT behemoth OpenSea.

Despite plenty of excitement around the announcement from many big NFT personalities, some have expressed caution that the excessive difficulty in learning the NFT ecosystem is a healthy one to educate consumers. There is certainly logic to the idea that high barriers to entry in learning the NFT space lead to more educated consumers (who must overcome those barriers in order to be able to aptly understand the environment). However, we should still encourage ease-of-use and broader adoption if we truly want to see the space grow.