InComm Payments merchants can now accept crypto through Flexa

July 7, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Payments are the next major hurdle for global cryptocurrency adoption. A new partnership between Incomm Payments and Flexa will enable crypto payments for hundreds of thousands of merchants worldwide.

Incomm Payments, a global payments provider with over 500,000 points of distribution, has entered into a partnership with Flexa that allows merchants to start accepting cryptocurrency payments in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and dozens of other digital assets.

Stefan Happ, Incomm Payments’ president, said the new partnership will enable merchants to capitalize on growing retail adoption of cryptocurrencies:

“By integrating with Flexa’s comprehensive solution for digital currency acceptance, we’re helping to unlock powerful consumer spending opportunities for brands and further enrich the consumer experience.”

Flexa co-founder Trevor Filter said his platform was designed to “make payments more efficient, accessible, and affordable for people all over the world,” adding:

“Our merchant-focused mission is one-hundred percent aligned with InComm Payments’ relentless focus on developing valuable, innovative solutions for their retail customers [...]”

Flexa allows merchants to accept digital dollars like Celo, Dai, Gemini dollar and USD Coin. It also supports ten digital tokens, including Chainlink (LINK), Terra (LUNA) and Loopring (LRC). Supported cryptocurrencies include BTC, ETH, Algorand (ALGO) and Dogecoin (DOGE), among others.

Payments are a highly touted but underutilized use case of cryptocurrencies. However, that appears to be changing as technology companies and merchant services providers slowly introduce new onramps to allow cryptocurrency transactions. As Cointelegraph reported, e-commerce merchant services provider OLB Group recently announced that more than 8,500 of its business customers can now accept crypto payments.

Crypto payments are also gaining traction in places like Latin America and Africa as locals try to circumnavigate currency controls and exchange-rate volatility.

Nigerian secondary school will accept crypto payments despite regulatory uncertainty

June 25, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Adoption

"We believe one day digital money will gain more acceptance than paper money,” said school director Sabi’u Musa Haruna.

A private secondary school based near the Nigerian city of Kano has announced it will be accepting payments for school fees in cryptocurrency amid the country’s central bank banning financial institutions providing services to crypto exchanges.

According to a Thursday report from local news outlet Kano Focus, the director of the New Oxford Science Academy in the Kano suburb of Chiranchi will allow students to pay for tuition fees in crypto. Sabi’u Musa Haruna, who started working at the school in 2017, urged the Nigerian government to embrace and regulate cryptocurrency, but seemed to imply he would not wait with this latest move.

“We’ve decided to accept cryptocurrency as school fees, because the world today is tilting towards the system,” said Haruna. “We believe one day digital money will gain more acceptance than paper money.”

Haruna cited the examples of countries like El Salvador and Tanzania expanding payment options for crypto users. The Latin American nation will begin to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender across the country starting on Sept. 7 following the passage of a pro-crypto bill. Across the glo Tanzania’s central bank announced today it had begun working on directives from the government that could eventually overturn the country’s ban on crypto.

The school director did not explicitly say which tokens would be accepted for payment. However, public interest for Bitcoin in Nigeria has often been stronger than that in other countries — according to data from Google Trends, the African country ranks first among searches for BTC, with Austria, Turkey, and Switzerland in a close race for second.

In February, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced in a circular that it had banned regulated financial institutions in the country from providing services to crypto exchanges. Though the policy warned of "severe regulatory sanctions" for any bank that failed to close accounts belonging to exchanges, governor Godwin Emefiele clarified in March that the ban was intended to “prohibit transactions on cryptocurrencies in the banking sector” rather than discourage individuals from dealing in digital assets.

Many lawmakers and people connected to Nigeria’s central bank have been pushing pro-crypto messages in the months following the ban. Emefiele said in May that “digital currency will come to life even in Nigeria” while the central bank later announced plans to launch a CBDC by 2022.

Sotheby’s will allow people to trade their crypto for an ‘intrinsically worthless’ rock

June 21, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Adoption

Is the auction house betting that diamonds will become a crypto user's best friend?

Luxury auction house Sotheby’s will accept bids in crypto for a massive diamond scheduled to be auctioned in Hong Kong next month.

According to a Monday Reuters report, Sotheby’s will offer a 101.38-carat pear-shaped diamond for bids in crypto and fiat starting on July 9. Buyers are expected to bid up $118 million HKD — roughly $15 million — for the stone. This amounts to more than 454 Bitcoin (BTC) at the time of publication at a price of $32,974. Sotheby’s has also accepted Ether (ETH) in previous auctions.

The auction house seems to be marketing to crypto users in the diamond listing. Patti Wong, chairperson of Sotheby's Asia, referred to the stones as “the most ancient and emblematic denominator of value.” Sotheby’s has also named the listing “The Key 10138,” purportedly in reference to the private keys used in crypto.

Though cryptocurrencies have had a volatile 2021 — the price of Bitcoin has fallen more than 5% in the last 24 hours after moving above $40,000 last week — some may question the logic in exchanging an asset with a market capitalization of more than $600 billion for a diamond. Though many people still purchase the rocks for jewelry and engagement rings, their usefulness as a store of value is arguably worse than that of BTC.

Nicky Oppenheimer, the former chairperson of the De Beers diamond corporation, once said “diamonds are intrinsically worthless.” The company largely maintained a monopoly on mining the stones for some time and seemingly restricted the world’s supply, driving up the price. Diamonds are apparently neither “rare” nor “forever” — they can actually delay over time, often faster than other stones. This brings new meaning to the “diamond hands” emoji popular among many crypto users, symbolizing someone HODLing an asset.

However, users have bid for similarly high-priced items at Sotheby’s this year as the company announced it would accept BTC and ETH. This month the auction house’s London salesroom sold a CryptoPunk for $11.8 million. Sotheby’s also announced it would be putting up a nonfungible token with the World Wide Web source code for bids starting on June 23.

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Pro basketball league in Canada will offer players Bitcoin salaries

June 18, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Basketball

"The ability to have part of my salary go directly into an investment that I believe will appreciate greatly over the next 10-30 years is a no-brainer,” said Guelph Nighthawks guard Kimbal Mackenzie.

The Canadian Elite Basketball League will be allowing players from its seven teams to accept a portion of their salaries in Bitcoin starting next week.

According to a Thursday announcement, the Canadian Elite Basketball League, or CEBL, has partnered with Toronto-based cryptocurrency exchange Bitbuy to convert part of basketball players’ existing salaries from Canadian dollars to Bitcoin (BTC) on request. The league said it will arrange for the funds to be delivered to the players’ personal crypto wallets.

More than 70 players on the active roster from the Edmonton Stingers, Fraser Valley Bandits, Guelph Nighthawks, Hamilton Honey Badgers, Ottawa Blackjacks, Niagara River Lions, and Saskatchewan Rattlers will be seemingly eligible for the crypto payments. Bitbuy will also be joining the CEBL as an official sponsor.

The Nighthawks’ Kimbal Mackenzie said he would be one of the first players to accept the CEBL’s offer. The 24-year-old guard recently re-signed with the team for the 2021 CEBL season beginning June 24.

“The opportunity to be paid in Bitcoin is something I’m incredibly excited about,” said Mackenzie. “I believe cryptocurrency is the future. The ability to have part of my salary go directly into an investment that I believe will appreciate greatly over the next 10-30 years is a no-brainer.”

Though many sports franchises and organizations have partnered with crypto and blockchain firms, many people have expressed concern about Bitcoin as a medium of exchange given the crypto asset’s price fluctuations. Mackenzie added in a separate interview that he would accept half of his salary in Bitcoin and was seemingly unconcerned about any potential volatility:

“[If Bitcoin falls], so be it. It was a decision I was prepared to make. On the other hand, if it increases, maybe I will retire in two years.”

Since reaching an all-time high price of $64,899 in April, Bitcoin has dropped significantly following Tesla CEO Elon Musk saying the company would stop accepting the crypto asset as payment for vehicles due to environmental concerns. At the time of publication, the BTC price is $36,788, having fallen more than 5% in the last 24 hours.

NASCAR driver opts for crypto payment in sponsorship deal

June 17, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

"There are a handful of pilots who like crypto, but I am probably one of the ones who has been around long enough and I am quite comfortable with how it works," said Landon Cassill.

Landon Cassill, a professional race car driver in NASCAR’s Xfinity Series, will be receiving part of his salary in Bitcoin and Litecoin as part of a sponsorship with crypto broker Voyager.

According to a Thursday report from the Associated Press, Voyager has finalized a 19-year agreement to sponsor Cassill starting this weekend at the NASCAR race at the Nashville Superspeedway. Cassill said the firm would pay for the deal entirely in crypto, with a "portfolio of various digital assets" that includes Bitcoin (BTC) and Litecoin (LTC).

The NASCAR driver was reportedly already “very active” in the Litecoin market as well that of other tokens and has made significant gains for several years. His Twitter profile picture shows the 31-year-old in racing gear with laser eyes — an indication on social media of being interested in crypto.

Started mining Bitcoin in my basement now we’re here https://t.co/Tpl4rWTOCE
— landon cassill (@landoncassill) June 17, 2021

"There are a handful of pilots who like crypto, but I am probably one of the ones who has been around long enough and I am quite comfortable with how it works," said Cassill. "I can trade it right away before the market changes or hold on to it while the market goes up or down, take out a little, pay my bills with it and keep the rest."

Other NASCAR drivers have formed relationships with crypto firms over the years. In 2020, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey previewed Square's Cash App car to be driven by Darrell “Bubba” Wallace in a NASCAR racing series — the vehicle featured at least two BTC logos. In addition, race car driver Ed Carpenter drove Zap CEO Jack Mallers’ “orange-spotted, Bitcoin-covered, engineering beast” at the Indy 500 last month. Carpenter and others attended the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami after the event.

El Salvador reportedly weighing paying employees in Bitcoin

June 15, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Payments

A 2001 law on monetary integration in the country states that salaries and fees may only be paid in colónes or dollars.

Rolando Castro, the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare in El Salvador has said that the government is discussing whether companies in the country should pay their employees in Bitcoin.

According to local radio station 107.7 Fuego GMV, Castro has discussed the issue of employers paying their workers in Bitcoin (BTC) with officials from the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economy. His remarks come a week after the country’s Legislative Assembly approved the use of the cryptocurrency as legal tender.

El Salvador’s 2001 Law of Monetary Integration, which provided the legislative framework to eventually replace the Salvadoran colón with the U.S. dollar, states that salaries and fees may only be paid in colónes or dollars. However, the former is rarely used in the Central American nation now.

It’s unclear if the approval of Bitcoin as legal tender in the country will expand upon existing law or replace it. President Nayib Bukele’s draft of the law shows “tax contributions can be paid in Bitcoin” and “for accounting purposes, the USD will be used as the reference currency.”

Since first announcing he would be introducing the pro-Bitcoin legislation at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami earlier this month, Bukele has taken to social media to promote cryptocurrencies and mining in El Salvador. Last week, the president called on the state-run geothermal power company to make certain facilities available to Bitcoin miners.

Latin American telecom company accepts crypto payments through BitPay

June 15, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Payments

GoldConnect will be able to process crypto transactions made in Bitcoin, Ether and other digital assets through its new LatamConnect platform.

GoldConnect, a Latin American telecommunications wholesaler, announced Tuesday that it will allow customers to pay with cryptocurrencies through payment processor BitPay, marking another important milestone in the region’s embrace of Bitcoin (BTC).

Crypto payments can be made directly through LatamConnect, a platform that connects directly with BitPay. Crypto payments made through BitPay are settled in local fiat currency.

GoldConnect said its embrace of crypto payments reflects growing demand for such services across the 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries in which it operates.

"As a disruptive telecom provider in the LATAM region, we must continuously embrace the latest technologies and business methods to improve the interaction and experience of our clients," said Jeremy Villalobos, chief operating officer of GoldConnect.

Shaun Worley, vice president of BitPay, added:

"GoldConnect realizes the potential for crypto to transform the wholesale telecommunication industry, making payments faster, more secure, and less expensive on a global scale.”

Latin America is becoming a hotbed for cryptocurrency activity. Recently, El Salvador became the first country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender, setting the stage for mass adoption in the region. Political representatives from several countries, including Brazil and Panama, have also expressed an interest in embracing Bitcoin.

As Cointelegraph reported, Bitso recently became Latin America’s first billion-dollar cryptocurrency exchange. It took Bitso six years to bring in 1 million users and another 10 months to register 2 million, highlighting the steep adoption curve during the 2020–2021 bull market.

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