LINE to Offer BTC, ETH for Payment Options and Introduce token in March

Messenger app LINE is considering adding cryptocurrencies to its payment options and officially launching its native LINK token (LN) in March.

Per its announcement, users can use “the LINK at some LINE Pay online merchants during a trial period from March to December 2022 in Japan.”

Although users can choose both LN for payment on the Line pay software, the token and Chainlink (LINK) are two different cryptocurrencies.

The LN was officially launched in 2018 based on its own blockchain network, LINE Blockchain. Users can pay commissions through LINK or LINE Pay accounts or bank accounts when trading crypto assets.

According to Coinmarketcap, LN was trading at $144.80 during the intraday, up over 20% in the past 7 days.

In August 2020, LINE launched a new blockchain digital wallet that can be used to manage various crypto assets.

The digital wallet, dubbed BITMAX, can be used to combine digital tokens coming from different blockchain services into a single wallet.

The company said it will connect the link token to LINE Pay as a payment solution, test the token’s in reality, and increase the convenience and number of payment options for users.

LINE Pay Corporation is the operator of FinTech services for the LINE Pay digital wallet and LINE messaging app.

As reported by Blockchain.News on October 20,  LINE was developing a platform to aid Asian central banks in their pursuit of central bank digital currencies (CBDC).

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Japan-based messaging app will offer trial run of native token starting in March

Users of Japanese messaging giant LINE will soon be able to use the app’s native token for payments at select online merchants in a limited trial.

In a Tuesday announcement, the LINE Corporation said that starting on March 16, users would have the option of paying with native LINK token (LN) — not to be confused with Chainlink (LINK) — at any of LINE Pay’s online merchants. The trial period, which will run until Dec. 26, is aimed at testing real-life use cases for the tokens in addition to increasing the convenience and number of payment options for users.

Source: Mikhail Nilov, Pexels

LINE Pay said it was considering adding other cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) to its payments options in the future, in addition to strengthening its partnerships with blockchain firms. Data from Statista shows there were 86 million monthly active LINE users as of the third quarter of 2020 — more than 68% of the country’s population of 126 million.

Launched in August 2018, the LN token is currently trading at $142.78, having risen by roughly 22% in the last 7 days. The token has been available for trading on crypto exchange Bitmax following an August 2020 agreement. As of the end of 2021, there were 30 crypto exchange businesses operating in Japan that had been approved by the country’s Financial Services Agency.

Related: Japan’s financial regulators may propose legislation in 2022 restricting stablecoin issuance

A consortium of Japan-based financial institutions and major corporations announced in November that they planned to trial and launch a yen-based digital currency in fiscal 2022. The country’s central bank, the Bank of Japan, is still in the research phase of developing a digital yen, expecting to complete its first trials by March.