Users of Coinbase’s planned NFT marketplace will be able to utilize their cards to make purchases as part of new cooperation with credit card provider Mastercard. NFTs will be deemed “digital goods” under the deal, according to Mastercard executive vice president of digital asset and blockchain products Raj Dhamodharan, who wrote a blog post on Tuesday. The initiative aims to make it easier for newbies and outsiders to participate in NFTs without the need for a wallet or the purchase of Ether (ETH) or other tokens.
Coinbase announced intentions to develop a platform for minting and buying nonfungible tokens late last year, which have risen in popularity over the past few months. In addition, Coinbase executives stated they hope to eliminate complexity in the NFT buying process by partnering with Mastercard. Customers currently open a crypto wallet, purchase digital currencies, and then spend those on NFTs in an online marketplace. Meanwhile, Mastercard said it wants to enable consumers to have more options when it comes to paying for NFTs.
According to Dhamodharan, “Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are used to this process. But for most people, it’s not simple, it’s not intuitive. We think it should be much easier. That will ensure NFTs can be for everyone. Getting more people involved safely and securely is perhaps the best way to help the NFT market thrive.” He further added, “ As it does, Mastercard sees even greater potential for NFTs’ underlying tech to go beyond art and collectibles into many more areas.”
More than 1 million people have signed up to be on the waiting list for the Coinbase NFT marketplace, which will be named “Coinbase NFT.” However, before making the NFT platform available to consumers in other countries, the crypto exchange aims to make it available to US users first.
NFT to boom further in 2022
Prior to Coinbase’s October announcement, big crypto exchanges FTX and Binance started their own NFT markets in response to the expansion of and interest in the NFT sector in 2021. First, Binance launched an NFT platform, noting that the goal was to offer the highest liquidity and lowest fees for consumers. Then, a; it’s few months after Binance launched its marketplace, FTX followed suit and launched a platform that is only available to consumers in the United States.
According to a recent analysis from experts, the NFT spike from 2021 might spill into the new year, and there may be a bigger demand for NFTs in 2022. According to reports, NFT trades generated $10.7 billion in the third quarter of 2021 and $11.9 billion in the fourth quarter. However, the first few days of the new year have shown signs that last year’s progress can be eclipsed.
More competition
The competition within the crypto space has gotten intense in recent months and attracted several financial giants. For example, Mastercard, one of the major credit card and payment organizations in the world, has recently been on a crypto collaboration binge. In October, Mastercard announced a partnership with Bakkt to allow banks and merchants in its network to offer crypto-related services. It’s also collaborated with companies like Gemini, BitPay, and Mintable.
Visa, a competitor, has also been involved in the crypto area. Coinbase is one of more than 60 collaborations with companies in the company’s area. Other payment platforms might make similar moves and position themselves for the anticipated boom.
