Credit card giant Mastercard has reportedly forged an alliance with crypto heavyweight Coinbase, to support users of the latter’s upcoming NFT marketplace making Mastercard-enabled NFT purchases. 

Specifically, Mastercard executive vice president of digital asset and blockchain products, Raj Dhamodharan has reportedly revealed that within the scope of the new alliance, NFTs would be viewed as “digital goods”, and are available for buying using a credit card.

The measure has a primary target of making it possible for non-crypto natives to gain acquaintance with NFTs, without using a wallet and purchasing Ether (ETH) or other tokens.

“Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are used to this process. But for most people, it’s not simple, it’s not intuitive. We think it should be much easier. That will ensure NFTs can be for everyone […] Getting more people involved safely and securely is perhaps the best way to help the NFT market thrive.” Dhamodharan further remarked. 

Since the initial announcement from Coinbase regarding its NFT marketplace – which is planned to go by the name “Coinbase NFT” – back in October, over 1 million individuals have reportedly signed up to be included in the waiting list. 

The crypto exchange reportedly has plans down its pipeline to roll out the NFT platform to users in America, prior to making the platform available to users in other different markets. 

Following the development of and recorded interest shown for the NFT sphere last year, high-profile crypto exchanges FTX and Binance reportedly also released their self-designed NFT marketplaces before Coinbase’s October announcement. 

In June, Binance introduced an NFT platform having the main target of “providing the highest liquidity and cheapest fees for users”, and FTX followed suit with a platform dedicated solely to users based in America.