Tag: E-Commerce

Shopify Launches Blockchain Commerce Tools to Enhance User Experience

by Blockchain News

E-commerce giant Shopify, which is crypto-friendly, has released a suite of blockchain commerce tools with the intention of improving the customer experience of its Web3-focused businesses that are housed on the platform.

Particularly noted are the improved functionality for connecting crypto wallets and the “tokengating” application programming interface (API) tools. The latter was previously exclusively accessible to a limited number of retailers until it entered early access beta access mode in June 2022.

Through the use of tokengating, relevant Shopify merchants now have the ability to build up their businesses in such a way that they may choose which tokenholders have access to exclusive items, nonfungible token (NFT) drops, and advantages and which do not.

The application checks a user’s eligibility by using the associated wallet, and it is being marketed to NFT Merchants as a convenient method to reward certain customers or add an element of exclusivity to certain items.

Shopify has merged with the sign-in with Ethereum (SIWE) protocol, which is led by the Ethereum Name Service (ENS) and the Ethereum Foundation. This integration enables Shopify to provide enhanced support for cryptocurrency wallets.

SIWE enables secure user sign-ins and authentication of Ethereum accounts and ENS domains without giving away private identifiers to third parties such as names, phone numbers, and residential addresses. Essentially, SIWE makes it possible for users to securely sign in and authenticate themselves to Ethereum accounts and ENS domains.

In the past, Shopify has had some issues when it comes to protecting the privacy of its customers’ information. Concerning a significant breach of user data that occurred in 2020, a group of dissatisfied customers filed a class-action lawsuit against the company and the vendor of hardware wallets, Ledger, in April of 2022.

“The statementGenerator prop gives you the ability to modify the statement that is shown whenever a Sign-In with Ethereum message is presented. According to the paper, “the function gets the address of the wallet that has linked, which enables you to extend and adapt your message statements so that they are more aligned with your brand.”

At this stage, once a merchant hooks up the SIWE feature on Shopify wallet connect, it appears that users will be able to click a “sign-in with Ethereum” button to connect their addresses via SIWE’s partnered intermediaries such as Coinbase, Fortmatic, WalletConnect, Portis, and Torus. This is something that users will be able to do once the merchant has hooked up the SIWE feature on Shopify wallet connect.

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Blockchain in Supply Chain Market Anticipated to Top $14.88 Billion by 2028

by Blockchain News

The increasing adoption of product traceability for enhanced transparency in manufacturing processes and the urge for optimized security will make blockchain in the supply chain market surpass $14.88 billion by 2028, according to a report by Research Dive.

The study noted that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) would be 57.4% during the forecast period between 2021 and 2028. 

The deployment of blockchain technology in e-commerce websites has spurred growth. It is expected to revamp the supply chain market in the coming years by rendering product traceability, quality control, and transparency in manufacturing processes. 

The pandemic has made e-commerce websites increase, and this has been made a reality by technologies like machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI). 

Per the report:

“By application, the product traceability sub-segment of the blockchain in supply chain market is anticipated to be the fastest-growing and reach $3.38 billion by 2028.”

The study noted that significant opportunities are availed by the need for automated, efficient, and transparent supply chains, and blockchain technology is expected to fill this void. 

The Asia-Pacific area is anticipated to be the fastest-growing region by amassing revenue worth $4.063 billion. The study acknowledged:

“Increasing technological advancements and growing adoption of blockchain technology by leading organizations of this region to make supply chains more robust have been the main factors behind the growth of blockchain in supply chain market in the Asia-Pacific region.”

According to the report, some of the prominent market players of the blockchain in the supply chain market include Oracle, Microsoft, Huawei, TIBCO Software, AWS, Huawei, and IBM.

Nevertheless, the research pointed out that the lack of awareness about blockchain technology might be a stumbling block in the speculated growth. 

Meanwhile, the global blockchain technology market is anticipated to reach $19.9 billion by 2026 from the current $3.4 billion value, according to market research publisher Global Industry Analysts Inc.

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Shopify Inks Deal with Strike, Enabling Bitcoin Lightning Payments

by Blockchain News

Merchants on Shopify, a global e-commerce giant, will have the option of receiving Bitcoin (BTC) off-chain payments through the Bitcoin Lightning Network after sealing a deal with Strike.

As a leading digital payments platform built on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, Strike will enable Shopify merchants to receive off-chain transactions, which are readily confirmed, faster, and cheaper than those processed on-chain or Bitcoin mainnet.

Jack Mallers, the founder and CEO of Strike, noted that the strategic partnership would easily enable Shopify merchants to accept Bitcoin payments as dollars. 

He added:

“The Lightning Network is a global payments network that lowers costs, enhances speed, drives innovation, improves financial inclusion, and brings the power of choice to consumers and merchants.”

Through Strike’s integration, Shopify merchants will be able to expand their existing payment options. As a result, they will utilise the potential purchasing power among global markets. 

Per the announcement:

“Strike’s integration also allows Shopify merchants to generate savings through low-cost payment processing.”

The partnership is also seen as a stepping stone towards reducing various complexities merchants face when holding BTC, given that their Bitcoin payments will be instantly converted to dollars.

With the Lightning Network (LN) being a layer two scaling solution on the BTC network, micropayment channels are used to enhance the blockchain’s capacity to undertake transactions more efficiently. 

A previous study by Arcane Research noted that the Lightning Network could radically change the business model of content providers in gaming, video, audio, and many more categories by providing a structure where continuous micropayments are made.

Therefore, Arcane Research foresaw a situation where the Lightning Network would transit from online services to everyday use. 

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Nearly 70% of Merchants Believe Crypto Payments will Revolutionize Business Models, Study Shows

by Blockchain News

The appetite for cryptocurrencies in e-commerce continues to gain steam as they offer more convenient and safer payment methods, according to a report by global payments solution provider Checkout.com.

Based on a study entitled “Demystifying Crypto: Shedding light on the adoption of digital currencies for payments in 2022 report,” Checkout.com invited 3,000 merchants and 30,000 consumers spread across 11 countries for this survey.

The study scrutinized sentiments and behaviours pertaining to commercial activities using cryptocurrencies. 

More merchants have an inclination towards cryptocurrencies based on ease of use and the speeds rendered. Per the report:

“Almost 70% of the merchants surveyed believe that the speed with which crypto payments can be made and settled has the potential to revolutionize their business models—with over 80% of merchants with existing crypto-payment options saying it was easier to settle than using fiat currencies.”

Merchants are already feeling the impact of cryptocurrencies based on Visa findings released earlier this year. The payment giant noted that payments associated with its crypto-linked cards skyrocketed to $2.5 billion during its fiscal first quarter of 2022. This represented 70% of the firm’s crypto volume for the entire 2021 fiscal year. 

The growing crypto appeal among younger users

According to Checkout.com findings, crypto was appealing to younger users, given that 40% of consumers aged between 18 and 35 years planned to utilize cryptocurrency payments next year.

This surged from less than 30% recorded last year, signifying a substantial shift in attitude from crypto being solely an investment vehicle to a way of undertaking business regularly.

Jess Houlgrave, Checkout.com’s head of strategy for crypto, stated:

“We believe this is the largest consumer survey of its kind, and the findings present a clear evolution of attitudes towards cryptocurrencies around the world. This is a legitimate transition from the early adoption phase to one that’s more practical, pragmatic and positive overall.”

The report suggested that increased crypto acceptance at consumer levels influenced the way large corporations viewed digital currencies.

More than a third of the respondents, including corporate treasurers and CFOs, showed an interest in having stablecoins on their balance sheets as decentralized finance (DeFi) method for treasury management.  

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MercadoLibre plans to accept BTC and cryptocurrencies as payment for all products

by Cointelegraph

MercadoPago, the fintech arm of e-commerce giant MercadoLibre, has enabled its Brazilian customers to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and the Paxos-issued U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin Pax Dollar (USDP). In a statement issued Thursday by U.S.-based Paxos, the blockchain infrastructure platform used by PayPal and Facebook, the partnership between MercadoPago and Paxos will allow users to pay for all products sold on the platform using cryptocurrency.

This news signals one of the largest stablecoin operations within a non-crypto wallet to date. Brazilian users looking to hold U.S. dollars can now do so for as little as 1 Brazilian real within the MercadoPago app by purchasing USDP. In inflation-plagued Latin America, stablecoins can provide a safety net against fiat monetary debasement.

Starting with Brazil, MercadoLibre’s largest market, the collaboration with Paxos plans to “accelerate the democratization of financial services in Latin America.” As MercadoPago hopes to make crypto more easily accessible for all Brazilians, Paxos plans to safeguard customer assets.

Since MercadoPago is authorized by Brazil’s central bank to act as a payment institution, the overall operation and integration of the platforms will be done by Paxos, which has opened an office in Brazil and will handle reporting users’ transactions to the regulators, according to Tulio Oliveira, vice president of MercadoPago Brazil.

Related: Depois de anunciar venda de Bitcoin, Mercado Livre planeja aceitar BTC e criptomoedas como pagamento para todos os produtos

MercadoLibre has been serving unbanked and underbanked populations since 1999. Now, MercadoPago and Paxos are among the few companies trying to normalize connectivity and mainstream use cases of stablecoins. Reserve is another platform that serves to convert local currencies in Venezuela, Colombia, Argentina and Panama to U.S. dollars via the Reserve (RSV) stablecoin.