Two new adoption on-ramps to cryptocurrency are launching soon, with one of them (Elon Musk’s X) serving the needs of consumers and the other (Stripe’s return to facilitating transfers in cryptocurrency) making it easier for businesses to conduct transactions. Both represent an overall shift in how cryptocurrency is perceived and utilized – and signify that new markets will be opening up to crypto soon.
In the case of X (formerly Twitter), the platform recently acquired money transmitter licenses in the U.S., giving users on the platform the ability to send and receive funds. Eventually, according to Christopher Stanley, Chief Information Security Officer for X Payments, users will be able to transfer and store funds into an interest-gaining wallet on the platform, buy products online, and even pay for products in-person at retail stores.
So what’s the big deal? Along with fiat currencies, Musk is emphasizing that cryptocurrencies will be integrated into the wallet and usable in each of the payment scenarios described above. “If it involves money. It’ll be on our platform. Money or securities or whatever,” Musk said in October 2023.
It’s not an unprecedented move, as Musk has been a supporter of cryptocurrency for years, including allowing the purchase of a Tesla with bitcoin and recently expanding that offer to Dogecoin holders as well. And to some, X’s transition to serving as a wallet evokes PayPal, which Musk was previously involved with. PayPal also allows users to store and transfer cryptocurrencies in their wallets, although directly paying for products using cryptocurrency is not possible on the platform.
The big takeaway is that with the launch of X Payments, more than half a billion active users will have access to purchasing goods with cryptocurrency. Talk about easy access for new adopters!
By comparison, PayPal has approximately 329 million active users, meaning that’s at least 200 million more people who will gain the ability to readily purchase and transfer cryptocurrency.
But that’s not the only big news of the past week. Stripe, which previously offered payments and transfers in bitcoin but stopped doing so in 2018 when it said that the coin was too volatile and more like an asset than a currency, is opening its doors to cryptocurrency once again.
At first, only Circle’s USDC stablecoin via the Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon blockchains will be accepted. Transactions made with the stablecoin “instantly settle on-chain and automatically convert to fiat,” tweeted co-founder and president John Collison. The company appears to be looking into other stablecoins to host on the platform.
“Crypto is finding real utility,” said Collison during the company’s Global Internet Economy conference last week. “With transaction speeds increasing and costs coming down, we’re seeing crypto finally making sense as a means of exchange.”
While it’s just one cryptocurrency that’s currently accepted on Stripe, it’s a major move in the direction of accepting the digital coins – and for the nearly three million websites that accept Stripe and the 100 companies who process more than $1 billion each on the platform, it’s a new and wide open avenue toward conducting business in cryptocurrency.
And, to be clear, Stripe represents a lot of business – to the tune of $1 trillion a year.
Whether consumers or businesses, both developments mean that new adopters are going to have considerable options when it comes to getting into the field. With more new adopters, all cryptocurrencies will enjoy enhanced stability as investments into infrastructure ramp up, not to mention increased demand.
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