X

Coinbase will let you use Mastercard to buy NFTs on its upcoming marketplace

Mastercard says it wants to make purchasing NFTs as simple as purchasing a T-shirt.

Attila Tomaschek
Attila is a Staff Writer for CNET, covering software, apps and services with a focus on virtual private networks. He is an advocate for digital privacy and has been quoted in online publications like Computer Weekly, The Guardian, BBC News, HuffPost, Wired and TechRepublic. When not tapping away on his laptop, Attila enjoys spending time with his family, reading and collecting guitars.
Expertise Attila has nearly a decade's worth of experience with VPNs and has been covering them for CNET since 2021. As CNET's VPN expert, Attila rigorously tests VPNs and offers readers advice on how they can use the technology to protect their privacy online and
Attila Tomaschek
guide_to_online_tech_shopping_c.jpg

Mastercard and Coinbase want to make it easy for anyone to buy NFTs.

CNET Asia

Mastercard has partnered with cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase to make purchasing NFTs easy for everyone, the companies said on Tuesday.

The partnership will allow people to purchase NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, with Mastercard cards on Coinbase's NFT marketplace once it goes live. With this move, Mastercard and Coinbase hope to make purchasing NFTs as simple as purchasing a T-shirt on any e-commerce site.

"We're working to make NFTs more accessible because we believe tech should be inclusive," said Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard's executive vice president in charge of digital assets and blockchain partnerships, in a release. "When more people are included in new technologies, it spurs innovation, helps economies grow and expands choices for consumers."

Coinbase in October unveiled plans to launch a marketplace for NFTs, which are digital assets like music, artwork or even tweets that have had their authenticity certified on a blockchain. There are also NFT collections, like Bored Ape Yacht Club, that take a template and produce hundreds or thousands of variations. Rare apes in the collection have sold for over $1 million, while more common variants go for around $200,000. 

Coinbase says its NFT marketplace is coming soon but hasn't given a specific launch date.