Circle Launches Paymaster to Simplify USDC Gas Payments on Ethereum’s Base and Base

• Circle’s Paymaster enables USDC gas payments on Ethereum’s Base, eliminating the need for ETH and improving the user experience.
• By reducing friction and expanding to other blockchains, Circle promotes stablecoin and Ethereum ecosystem adoption.

Circle has introduced Paymaster as a new solution to streamline the process of paying gas fees on Ethereum-based platforms like Arbitrum and Base. With Paymaster, users can pay transaction fees using USDC, Circle’s stablecoin, instead of Ethereum’s native token, ETH.

As highlighted in a recent CNF post, Circle’s innovations and the growing demand for tokenized assets could drive Ethereum adoption, reinforcing its role as a foundational blockchain in global finance.

In a tweet, Circle announced this development, emphasizing:

No more juggling tokens across blockchains—simply use USDC for payments, transfers, and gas fees.

This new service aims to enhance user experience by eliminating the need for multiple tokens across blockchain networks.

Paymaster specifically reduces the friction of using ETH for gas fees. Previously, users needed ETH to cover gas fees on Ethereum and its Layer 2 networks, which was challenging for those who didn’t hold ETH. Circle’s new initiative solves this issue by allowing users to use USDC, a stable and predictable option, for transaction fees and payments.

Improving User Experience and Reducing Transaction Failures

Paymaster eliminates barriers, making transactions smoother and less prone to failure—a win for blockchain newcomers and users seeking a more reliable experience. Circle plans to expand Paymaster beyond Arbitrum and Base, targeting blockchains like Polygon PoS and Solana, which could further drive stablecoin adoption.

This initiative aligns with Circle’s broader strategy to foster stablecoin adoption across platforms. To encourage users, Circle is offering a temporary waiver of the 10% transaction fee until June 30, promoting USDC for gas payments.

Circle’s Bigger Vision: Bridging Traditional Finance and Blockchain

Recently, a CNF update also highlighted that Circle acquired Hashnote, the firm managing a $1.3 billion tokenized money market fund. By shifting to USDC for gas payments, Circle addresses significant challenges within the Ethereum ecosystem. One such challenge is the frequent failed transactions caused by users not holding enough ETH to cover gas fees.

At the time of writing, Ethereum (ETH) trades at $3,304.50, up by 2.10% in the past day but down by 1.92% in the past week. See ETH price chart below.