Bitcoin
$37,867.01-0.65%
Ethereum
$2,038.19-1.14%
Binance Coin
$226.73-0.98%
XRP
$0.60814624-0.57%
Solana
$60.03+3.11%
Cardano
$0.38577347-0.24%
Dogecoin
$0.08113893+0.90%
Tron
$0.10804610+4.45%
Toncoin
$2.42-1.78%
Chainlink
$14.63+0.10%
Avalanche
$20.93+1.56%
Polygon
$0.76269024+0.98%
PlayIconNav
Crypto Prices CoinDesk Market Index CoinDesk Market Index
Technology

Circle to Let Merchants Pay for Customers' Gas Fees With Web3 Wallet Upgrade

Southeast Asian super-app Grab is currently piloting the new product to cover gas fees for its Singaporean users if they use NFT vouchers.

By Krisztian Sandor
AccessTimeIconOct 19, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. UTC
Updated Oct 24, 2023 at 7:57 p.m. UTC
10 Years of Decentralizing the Future
May 29-31, 2024 - Austin, TexasThe biggest and most established global hub for everything crypto, blockchain and Web3.Register Now

USDC stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Financial on Thursday released an upgrade for its Web3 programmable crypto wallet that allows merchants to take over and pay for their customers' transaction fees.

According to the press release, the new function called Gas Station lets businesses sponsor users' gas fees – the cost for money transfers on blockchains – leveraging the ERC-4337 paymaster.

The function went live on Polygon (MATIC) mainnet and testnet as well as Ethereum (ETH) testnet at the start, and later will be expanded to more blockchains, Circle said.

Southeast Asian super-app Grab, for example, is currently trying out the Gas Station function to give its Singaporean users a gas-free experience if they use non-fungible token (NFT) vouchers from Grab’s Web3 wallet to earn rewards, the press release said.

Read more: Circle Seeks to Make Crypto Payments Easier With New 'Programmable Wallets'

The company also introduced Thursday its Smart Contract Platform, which aims to help developers build applications faster by offering a "one-stop shop to import, explore, deploy, and manage smart contracts." The product's APIs are currently available on Avalanche (AVAX), Ethereum and Polygon.

Circle’s Smart Contract Platform (Circle)
Circle’s Smart Contract Platform (Circle)

"We’re reducing friction and making blockchain transactions more accessible to everyone,” Gagan Mac, head of product for Web3 services at Circle, said in a statement. "With the launch of Gas Station, we are abstracting away blockchain transaction fees for end users and Smart Contract Platform makes it easier for businesses to leverage the benefits of blockchain networks."

Edited by Aoyon Ashraf.

Disclosure

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by Bullish, a cryptocurrency exchange, which in turn is owned by Block.one, a firm with interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets including bitcoin and EOS. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary, and an editorial committee, chaired by a former editor-in-chief of The Wall Street Journal, is being formed to support journalistic integrity.

Krisztian Sandor
Krisztian Sandor

Krisztian Sandor is a reporter on the U.S. markets team focusing on stablecoins and institutional investment. He holds BTC and ETH.

Follow @sndr_krisztian on Twitter

Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.