Coinbase Wallet is set to introduce a “Tap to Pay” crypto feature, providing a fast and easy way to pay with crypto. This new feature aims to compete with services like Cash App, Venmo, and PayPal, offering users a global payment option.
Key Highlights:
- Feature Rollout: Jesse Pollak, the creator of Ethereum’s layer-2 network Base and Coinbase Wallet lead, announced that Tap to Pay is currently in an internal testing phase and will soon be widely available. Pollak expects the feature to reach users in 50 countries by the end of 2025.
- Enhanced Payments for Merchants: Tap to Pay on Coinbase Wallet aims to offer a faster, more global payment experience for merchants worldwide, potentially surpassing the reach of popular payment apps.
- Bank Account Integration: The update will also connect users’ bank accounts to Coinbase Wallet, making it easier to manage savings, spending, and investing on-chain. This shift is expected to benefit both users and merchants with lower fees and faster transactions.
Stablecoin Off-Ramps
Pollak shared that bank account integration would allow users to receive stablecoins like USDC or Tether, which can then be converted to local currencies. He believes that as merchants recognize the cost-saving benefits, adoption of stablecoins for payments will increase quickly.
Solving Layer-2 Interoperability
Coinbase is also working on a solution to enable interoperability between Ethereum’s layer-2 networks. Pollak expects this problem to be resolved within the next six months, using ERC-7683 and RIP-7755 standards. This would allow users to seamlessly transfer tokens between Base, Arbitrum, OP Mainnet, and other Ethereum layer-2s.
A successful implementation would let users store assets on Base and transact across multiple networks, expanding use cases in an ecosystem that currently secures over $42 billion.