Coinbase Commerce Removes Bitcoin Payment Support for Merchants

Coinbase Removes Support for Native Bitcoin and UTXO Coins

Coinbase has recently made the decision to remove support for native Bitcoin (BTC) and other UTXO (Unspent Transaction Output) coins on its payment platform for merchants, Coinbase Commerce. The removal was driven by challenges in delivering recent updates on Coinbase Commerce’s EVM (Ethereum Virtual Machine) payment protocol for Bitcoin.

Background

In a recent statement, Lauren Dowling, the exchange’s head of product, explained that the decision to remove native Bitcoin and UTXO support was due to the challenges of providing the same capabilities on the Bitcoin blockchain without smart contracts and stablecoins. Coinbase Commerce has introduced a new product that focuses on enforcing payment details on-chain and supports a wide range of assets, including native and ERC-20 tokens. Additionally, the product automatically converts payments to USDC (USD Coin) on-chain at a guaranteed rate for merchants.

Future Integrations and Criticisms

Although Coinbase Commerce will no longer directly support Bitcoin transactions for merchants, CEO Brian Armstrong clarified that customers using Coinbase accounts can still use Bitcoin as a payment option. Furthermore, Coinbase is working on integrating the Lightning Network, a layer-two scaling solution for Bitcoin, into its platform, which could potentially open up opportunities for Lightning Network-based commerce payments in the future.

However, the decision to remove native Bitcoin support has sparked criticism within the community. Some users have expressed concerns about the impact on Bitcoin adoption, arguing that assuming every customer has a Coinbase account or is based in the United States, where Coinbase operates, may limit broader acceptance.

Implications and Revenue Growth

This development comes shortly after Coinbase announced a 64% jump in transaction revenue to take in $529.3 million in Q4, 2023, indicating the company’s ongoing growth and evolving strategies related to cryptocurrency payments.