Mastercard Joins NFT Race With Coinbase Partnership

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• Mastercard card holders will be able to buy NFTs direct from Coinbase NFT
• The partnership aims to bring NFTs to the masses
• Mastercard’s deal comes in the wake of Visa’s strong move into the space

Mastercard has emulated Visa in its push to join the NFT race after signing a deal with Coinbase to allow easy purchasing of NFTs on Coinbase’s imminent NFT platform. Coinbase NFT, which was announced in October last year, will be a peer-to-peer NFT marketplace that aims to reduce the friction associated with existing NFT marketplaces with the aim of making the space more appealing to the masses, a process that, with the addition of Mastercard, looks to have a good chance of succeeding.

⚡️Game changer!⚡️

We’re excited to announce our new partnership with @Mastercard. Stay tuned as we work to unlock a new way to purchase NFTs using Mastercard cards.

Learn more👇https://t.co/3Yazzbz0ws

— Coinbase (@coinbase) January 18, 2022

Mastercard Wants Frictionless NFT Trading

In announcing the deal yesterday, Mastercard opined that the process of buying NFTs was holding back adoption among the masses. Cryptocurrency enthusiasts, they said, were used to the long-winded process of opening and connecting wallets to NFT exchanges and engaging in the multi-step process (and associated costs) involved in such transactions.

For the general public to even consider buying an NFT, Mastercard said, the process had to be much more seamless, which was the only way the industry would grow:

We’re working to make NFTs more accessible because we believe tech should be inclusive. When more people are included in new technologies, it spurs innovation, helps economies grow and expands choices for consumers.

As a result, Mastercard customers will soon be able to buy NFTs from Coinbase NFT as easily as buying regular online goods, representing a huge step forward in the attainment of wider adoption.

Purists Won’t be Happy

Mastercard’s introduction into the NFT arena could be seen as a response to Visa’s move into the space in recent months, which has included spending $150,000 on a Cryptopunk and launching its own NFT artist support project.

There will of course be those who object to a centralized giant like Coinbase attempting to dominate the burgeoning NFT space, but it can’t be denied that frictionless transactions are more appealing to the mass market than decentralization.