Tag: Crypto Payment

SpankChain Shuts Down SpankPay Crypto Payment Processor

by Blockchain News

SpankChain, an Ethereum-based blockchain platform designed to help adult content creators cut out traditional banks and intermediaries, has closed its crypto payment processor, SpankPay. The closure comes after the company lost its payment service provider, Wyre, in February due to “violations of any third-party payment processor or network rules.” SpankPay attempted to find another service provider, but all attempts were rejected due to the adult industry nature of their business.

In a Twitter thread, SpankPay announced that the decision to close the payment processor was due to the escalating hostility of the banking environment towards adult industry payment processors, which had made it untenable for the small team and niche market it served. Despite the shutdown, the company reassured users that their money was safe and would be returned as soon as possible.

SpankPay was launched in July 2019 as an adult-industry-friendly payment solution that enabled adult entertainers and merchants to accept cryptocurrency for their services. The closure of SpankPay is a significant blow to SpankChain, as the platform was a key part of its blockchain ecosystem.

The adult entertainment industry has always faced challenges with traditional banking systems, as banks have been reluctant to work with the industry due to its controversial nature. SpankChain sought to change this by providing a blockchain-based platform that allowed adult content creators to transact directly with their customers, cutting out traditional intermediaries.

The closure of SpankPay highlights the ongoing challenges faced by the adult entertainment industry in accessing traditional banking services. The industry has been forced to rely on alternative payment methods, such as cryptocurrencies, to transact with customers. The use of cryptocurrencies has enabled adult content creators to access a global market and avoid the restrictions imposed by traditional banks.

Despite the challenges, SpankChain remains committed to advancing the adult industry and has promised to continue developing and investing in products that serve the niche market it serves. The closure of SpankPay is a significant setback for the company, but it is determined to continue to innovate and find new ways to help adult content creators succeed in the digital age.

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Bahrain-Based Crypto Platform to Enable Real Estate Acquisition Using Crypto

by Blockchain News

CoinMena, a Bahrain-based crypto asset service provider, has teamed up with Carlton Real Estate to facilitate real estate purchases using cryptocurrencies. 

Ali Adnan Mahmood, Carlton Real Estate’s deputy managing director, pointed out:

“We are proud to be the first real estate brokerage company in the kingdom to accept crypto asset transactions for property purchases and other real estate services through our partnership with CoinMena – the crypto asset service provider licensed by the Central Bank of Bahrain.” 

By incorporating crypto into its payment options, Carlton Real Estate believes this will propel its management, financing, and brokerage objectives. CoinMena enables institutional and retail investors to easily access digital asset investments directly from their bank accounts for frictionless and quick money transfers.

In a joint statement, CoinMena founders Dina Sam’an and Talal Tabbaa stated:

“As adoption continues to grow in the region, we see significant opportunities to use cryptocurrencies to purchase real-world assets. Crucially, this Carlton partnership also signals to the market that cryptocurrencies are maturing and gaining mainstream acceptance as a viable medium of exchange, they said in a joint statement.”

They added that Bahrain has been scrutinizing the crypto/blockchain space based on the adoption of various regulations.

For instance, the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) undertook a crypto payment trial with Onyx, JPMorgan’s cryptocurrency and blockchain unit. 

Furthermore, Binance received a Category 4 license as a crypto asset service provider (CASP) from the CBB. This license was to permit Binance Bahrain to offer a full range of crypto trading services to consumers under the supervision of the Bahrain regulators, Blockchain.News reported. 

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Leading Kitchen Equipment Provider CKitchen Embraces Cryptocurrencies

by Blockchain News

CKitchen, a leading US-based kitchen and restaurant equipment provider, has rolled out a crypto payment option to keep track of evolving market trends. 

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Through a strategic partnership with the crypto exchange Coinbase, the firm will permit payments in various cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), Dai (DAI), USD Coin (USDC), and Ethereum (ETH).

 

Having been in existence for 38 years, CKitchen believes the pandemic has accelerated the transition to digital payments. Per the announcement:

“By accepting cryptocurrency payments, the company will also hold the offered options on its balance sheets, signaling a major shift in the commercial kitchen equipment industry. The restaurant industry is likely to switch to decentralized payment methods now more than ever.”

The company also sees crypto payment as a stepping stone towards enhancing customer comfort and satisfaction based on the flexibility rendered. The report noted:

“Since the rise of alternative currencies and blockchain technology, adaptability has regained the center stage for businesses that intend to remain flexible. Taking into account the restaurants and the food entrepreneurs of the future, cryptocurrencies are an unmissable component of a rising tech-influenced economy.”

By laying primary emphasis on customer satisfaction and requirements, CKitchen believes this has been monumental in its existence for nearly four decades. Therefore, the crypto payment option enhances this objective.  

 

According to a recent report by global payments solution provider Checkout.com, the appetite for cryptocurrencies in e-commerce was gaining steam as firms offered more convenient and safer payment methods. 

 

As a result, nearly 70% of merchants acknowledged that the speed with which crypto payments were made and settled had the potential to revolutionize their business models. 

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Rio de Janeiro to Accept Crypto Property Tax Payment from 2023

by Blockchain News

Rio de Janeiro is gearing up to be the first city on Brazilian soil to accept tax payment in cryptocurrencies from 2023, according to Bloomberg Linea. 

As a result, plans are underway for the municipality to hire companies that will aid in the conversion of crypto assets to the Brazilian Real, the nation’s currency.

As the second-largest city in Brazil, Rio de Janeiro intends to enter the non-fungible token (NFT) market, which continues to take the world by storm. Per the announcement:

“Among the suggestions already mentioned in the report is the creation of NFTs by the City Hall with images of tourist spots and spaces for artists to make interventions that would later become NFT.”

Therefore, the arts to be developed will be held in a blockchain wallet authorized by the municipality so that it gets a percentage of the sale.

Pedro Paulo, Rio de Janeiro’s Secretary of Finance and Planning, welcomed the intention of accepting crypto tax payment for properties and noted:

“In the future, this could be extended to services like taxi rides. Going further, we will utilize these crypto assets to stimulate arts, culture, and tourism through NFTs.”

This revelation comes months after Mayor Eduardo Paes revealed that the city was planning to become “Crypto Rio” by storing part of its treasury in cryptocurrencies, Blockchain.News reported. 

This objective was prompted by Rio de Janeiro’s goal of borrowing a leaf from Miami in its Bitcoin adoption journey so that it would become the tech capital of South America. 

The payment of taxes through cryptocurrencies has become a hot topic in different parts of the globe. 

For instance, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently disclosed plans to roll out a cryptocurrency payment option for businesses remitting taxes.

His sentiments were a response to the call that the state was one of the emerging hubs for cryptocurrency investment, given that leading crypto companies like Blockchain.com have set foot in Miami.

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Crypto Payments Will Drive Crypto Adoption, New Report Reveals

by NEWSBTC

According to a new study, more than half of Americans believe that using crypto payment provides firms a competitive advantage.

57% Want Bitcoin Payment

According to a recent survey conducted by payment network Mercuryo, 57% of respondents felt that taking bitcoin payments will provide businesses a competitive advantage. More than a third of businesses indicated that consumers had asked to pay in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), or another digital money, among other facts.

Customers agreed, with 58% of shoppers wanting cryptocurrencies to be accepted as a form of payment, according to Mercuryo’s research. It should come as no surprise that calls for crypto payment acceptance are increasing, given that a third (34%) of UK finance organizations currently make payments via the blockchain.

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In order to compile the report, 501 key financial decision makers in the United Kingdom were polled. Large enterprises employing more than 250 employees made up over half of the sample size. 40% of the responders are board or director-level executives, with the rest being partners or business owners.

The recent announcement that Visa is introducing its own crypto consultancy service to help clients navigate the world of cryptocurrencies reflects this need. With fintechs clamoring to leverage crypto technology, important industry players like Revolut are already considering launching their own crypto exchange to widen their offering, indicating a potential new era for the widespread acceptance of digital currencies within the financial services environment.

Petr Kozyokov, CEO and Co-Founder of Mercuryo, said:

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“Our research shows that 75% of all large companies believe that cryptocurrencies will at some point be integrated into all forms of financial services.”

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BTC trades at $48k. Source: TradingView

Related article | Croatia’s Largest Supermarket Chain Rolls Out Bitcoin Payments

Small Businesses Believe Crypto Payments Will Replace Fiat

Smaller firms, such as e-bike sellers, shoe makers, and fintech startups, have stated their conviction in cryptocurrencies as a corporate asset in a series of interviews on The Situations. Despite the fact that bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments account for a small portion of their total sales, they claim it is a growing and valuable service.

Bitpay, Coinbase, and Block, for example, are always willing to assist businesses in making the shift to taking cryptocurrency payments. However, getting your paycheck isn’t as simple as it is with cryptocurrency — a fast-growing trend that will attract top personnel in 2021.

“Internal construction of these complex crypto infrastructures often takes years,” Kozyokov noted. “There are still barriers to implementation that are slowing the pace of adoption,” as with new technology.

Small business owners aren’t afraid to admit that they believe digital assets will play a role in their operations in the coming years. Although only a tiny percentage of them already accept Bitcoin, the majority believe that other types of assets will be accepted in the next years. The majority of cryptocurrency exchanges are currently being used to help with crypto payments.

According to the research, 33 percent of respondents said a lack of clear regulatory clarity in the market is a barrier to participation, while 27 percent said scams are a concern, and 28 percent are concerned about exchange rate volatility.

Related article | Calls For Tesla To Resume Bitcoin Payments As Mining Reaches 57% Renewable Energy

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Belgian startup debuts Bitcoin payments for parking tickets

by Cointelegraph

Seety, a digital parking startup based in Belgium, has introduced crypto payment support for parking tickets.

According to a report by DataNews on Thursday, the company which is one of the firms bootstrapped by Belgian accelerator program Start it @KBC has rolled out a crypto payment feature in Antwerp and Brussels.

Seety users will from Thursday be able to use Bitcoin (BTC) to pay for parking tickets in locations across both cities.

Apart from Bitcoin, customers can also use crypto like Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Dogecoin (DOGE), and Litecoin (LTC), as well as stablecoins like Dai (DAI) and USD Coin (USDC).

Customers looking to use crypto to pay for parking space will use the “coins” to buy Seety credits on the company’s app platform. According to the report, using crypto will not incur any additional fee on the part of the customer.

The Seety app reportedly has over 355,000 users in Belgium and the Netherlands and is aiming to achieve an annual turnover above 2 million euros by 2022.

For the company, using crypto to pay for parking space is indicative of how cryptocurrencies will eventually gain greater adoption in everyday microtransactions. Seety expects crypto adoption to grow once tokens become more environmentally friendly.

Related: Visa will facilitate USDC payments, thanks to fresh partnership

Using Bitcoin to pay for parking tickets goes as far back as 2014 with the defunct Brawker app. These days, crypto payment options for microtransactions are becoming increasingly popular even though significant hurdles still stand in the way of more broad-based penetration.

Crypto credit cards and stablecoins are also helping to simplify the process of spending cryptos while making it easier for merchants to onboard cryptocurrency payment options on their platforms.

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, Visa recently stated that its crypto-enabled cards had processed over $1 billion in crypto spending in the first half of 2021.