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Mastercard, Coinbase make it easier to buy NFTs

Jan 18, 2022 | By PYMNTS.com

Coinbase and Mastercard are teaming up to allow more people to join the nonfungible tokens (NFT) community by classifying them as digital goods while offering an upcoming new way to pay for NFT purchases by using Mastercard cards, the companies announced in blog posts Tuesday (Jan. 18).

“Just as we helped millions of people access Bitcoin for the first time in an easy and trusted way, we want to do the same for NFTs,” said Prakash Hariramani, senior director of product at Coinbase, in the company blog post.

Coinbase recently announced Coinbase NFT, a peer-to-peer marketplace that will make minting, purchasing, showcasing and discovering NFTs easier, said Hariramani.

“Thanks to our work with Mastercard, we’ll be able to provide a better customer experience on Coinbase NFT, and plan on working to find ways to bring this opportunity to the broader ecosystem through Mastercard’s scale and global network,” he said.

Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of digital asset and blockchain products and partnerships at Mastercard, lauded the new ease of buying NFTs in his company’s blog post announcing the partnership.

“Today, if you want to buy an NFT — such as a digital art piece — you first need to open a crypto wallet, buy crypto, then use it to purchase an NFT in an online marketplace,” he said. “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.”

Related: Coinbase Buys FairX to Offer Crypto Derivatives in US

Last week, Coinbase announced plans to buy U.S. based derivatives platform FairX, which could allow the company to offer crypto derivatives products in the U.S.

FairX is a designated contract market and is registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. That lets it offer futures products in the U.S.

Coinbase is an applicant to the National Futures Association, which is a self-regulatory organization looking over U.S. derivatives platforms.

FairX debuted in May 2021 after getting regulatory approvals in late 2020.

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