BitPay, a provider of blockchain payment services, announced the rollout of stablecoin payments for merchants and consumers around the globe. The company supports payment acceptance and settlement in any of three popular volatility-free stablecoins, Circle’s USD Coin (USDC), the Gemini Dollar (GUSD) and Paxos Standard Token (PAX).
With the addition of the three tokens to the BitPay wallet app, consumers are not only able to spend U.S. dollar-pegged currency at businesses around the world like Microsoft and Avnet, they’re also able to transact with the speed and flexibility of cryptocurrencies to pay friends, family, or other individuals. Wallet-to-wallet cryptocurrency transfers are spendable as soon as they’re received, eliminating the costs and delays of bank transfers or wires typical of other solutions.
GUSD, USDC, and PAX have increased both in number and use in recent years because they combine the efficiencies of a cryptocurrency with the added benefit of being tied to the stability of the U.S. dollar. As cryptocurrencies, stablecoin transactions are verified by a decentralized network and recorded on an immutable public ledger, providing transparency and eliminating traditional payment fraud associated with credit cards. Because their value is pegged to fiat currency, however, stablecoins eliminate the volatility associated with other cryptocurrencies.
“Accepting or paying with stablecoins opens up new possibilities for global businesses that require the stability of the dollar but the security and efficiency of blockchain payments,” said Stephen Pair, BitPay CEO and co-founder. “Businesses can invoice international customers without the need for costly, complicated cross-border wire transfers. Customers can send and receive payments using fast, efficient, and volatility free dollar-pegged stablecoins.”
Joshua Rawlins, Managing Director of Financial Operations at Gemini said, “The pairing of crypto payment acceptance with a stablecoin like the Gemini dollar— which combines the creditworthiness and price stability of the U.S. dollar with blockchain technology —is powerful. Merchants benefit from faster, cheaper, and fraud-resistant payment settlement and consumers benefit from the ease of using cryptocurrency without worrying about price fluctuations.”
Walter Hessert, Corporate Strategy Lead at Paxos, added, “By using PAX to make everyday payments through BitPay, customers send USD quickly and retailers get paid immediately. Using PAX in payment and settlement is a crucial step forward as customers can now spend their PAX with more than 30,000 BitPay merchants around the world.”
With the addition of worldwide stablecoin payments to complement a suite of products that includes the BitPay Wallet and the BitPay Prepaid Visa® Card, among others, BitPay is primed to continue the tradition of innovation they established as the first-mover in blockchain payment processing nearly a decade ago. The company continues to transform how businesses and people, in both established and emerging markets alike, send, receive, and store money.
