Summary

• Solana Pay has integrated its plug-in with Shopify, the e-commerce giant, enabling countless businesses on the Shopify platform to accept fast, Web3 native payments.
• The integration will begin with USDC and also offer merchants the opportunity to establish loyalty programs with minimal development effort.
• Several prominent crypto brands, including Helius, Mad Lads, and MonkeDAO, have also committed to integrating Solana Pay into their Shopify stores.
• This move isn't Shopify’s first foray into the crypto payment realm, having previously unveiled a suite of blockchain-enabled commerce tools and features.

Solana Pay, the decentralized payment protocol developed by Solana Labs, announced today that it has successfully integrated its plug-in with Shopify, the e-commerce giant. This integration marks a significant stride, enabling countless businesses on the Shopify platform to accept fast, Web3 native payments. 

Launched in February 2022, Solana Pay is built on the robust foundation of the Solana layer-1 blockchain. Notably, the integration will begin with USDC, the second-largest stablecoin boasting a market capitalization of $25.9 billion.

“Most merchants probably are probably more willing to accept something so closely tied to the dollar. But the protocol will consider adding cryptocurrencies like SOL and BONK in the future,” said Josh Fried, business development and partnerships at Solana Foundation, in an interview with TechCrunch. 

Additionally, USDC's well-regulated nature and the familiarity of consumers with digital dollar transactions play pivotal roles in this decision.

Shopify, a major player in the e-commerce landscape, accounts for 10% of total US e-commerce activity, amounting to a staggering $444 billion in global economic impact. The Solana ecosystem, on the other hand, thrives with over 11.5 million active accounts. Notable crypto entities like Circle, Phantom, Checkout.com, and Citcon have already embraced Solana Pay's capabilities.

Notably, Solana Pay offers an almost fee-free payment experience, which is in stark contrast to the usual credit card processing fees ranging from 1.5% to 3.5% per transaction. The blockchain's low average transaction cost of $0.00025 and its notable improvement in uptime add to its appeal.

The integration also offers merchants the opportunity to establish loyalty programs with minimal development effort. Fried pointed out that these reward systems could range from simple NFT loyalty tokens to discounts for returning customers using Solana Pay. Several prominent crypto brands, including Helius, Mad Lads, and MonkeDAO, have also committed to integrating Solana Pay into their Shopify stores.

This move by Shopify isn't its first foray into the crypto payment realm. The platform previously unveiled a suite of blockchain-enabled commerce tools and features, facilitating the creation of tokengating applications. Notably, Shopify already collaborates with other payment platforms like Coinbase Commerce, Strike, Crypto.com, and BitPay.