Enterprise payment platform Tribal Credit has partnered with Latin American crypto exchange Bitso and the Stellar Development Foundation to create a new cross-border payment service for businesses, opening the door to broader use cases for blockchain technology in the region. The new service, which is geared towards small- and medium-sized enterprises, enables companies in Mexico to pay for goods and services in their native peso currency and have their counterparts in the United States receive the payments in dollars. The service will rely on the Stellar blockchain, a decentralized open-source payment network specializing in cross-currency transactions. Tribal Credit’s cross-border payment …

Despite some senators in the United States opposing Meta launching its digital currency products, the development of the social media giant's digital wallet, Novi, continues apace. Stephane Kasriel, the head of Meta’s cryptocurrency and fintech unit Novi, officially announced on Dec. 8 that Meta’s messenger subsidiary WhatsApp has started testing transactions through Meta’s Novi wallet. According to the exec, the new feature is available for a “limited number of people” in the United States, allowing users to send and receive money on WhatsApp “instantly and with no fees.” There's a new way to try the @Novi digital wallet. Starting today, …

Cryptocurrency wallet and infrastructure provider Ledger has debuted a new debit card that enables users to buy goods and services with their digital assets, potentially opening the door to wider adoption of crypto payment services. The Crypto Life card, also known as “CL,” was introduced at Ledger’s biannual Op3n conference on Thursday. The debit card is linked to Ledger Live, a desktop and mobile application that enables Ledger users to buy, swap and stake cryptocurrencies. The CL card supports several cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and stablecoins USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT). Cardholders have the option of instantly …

French crypto-friendly fintech startup Lydia has raised $100 million in a series C funding round, as per a report in TechCrunch. The latest capital raise reportedly helped Lydia attain unicorn status with a valuation of over $1 billion. The $100 million fundraise comes nearly a year after its series B funding round of $86 million in December 2020. The round was led by existing investors Tencent and Accel and also saw participation from Dragoneer and Echo Street. The fintech startup aims to use the fresh capital to expand its footprint in Europe. The firm hopes to onboard 10 million European …

Digital payments company Square announced that it has changed its company name to Block, seemingly in a shift towards blockchain technology. In a Wednesday tweet, Square said the rebrand will bring the payments firm together with Cash App, the decentralized Bitcoin (BTC) exchange project tbDEX, and music and video streaming platform Tidal. An accompanying news release said that Square Crypto, the cryptocurrency-focused branch of payment firm, will also be changing its name to Spiral and joining the Block family. “Block references the neighborhood blocks where we find our sellers, a blockchain, block parties full of music, obstacles to overcome, a …

Bitcoin (BTC) started the new month in strength and today's run up to $59,053 suggests that bulls are beginning to shake off the fears stirred up by the Federal Reserve's taper talks and the emergence of a new strain of Covid-19. Altcoins also saw their prices lift off and early hopes of a potential "Santa Claus rally" are making the rounds on crypto Twitter. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the biggest gainers over the past 24-hours were Request Network (REQ), Bifrost (BFC) and SafePal (SFP). Request Network transactions hit an all-time high Request Network is an …

Food delivery platform Grubhub has partnered with Bitcoin rewards app Lolli to give hungry people the opportunity to earn crypto back on their orders. In a Wednesday announcement, Lolli said Grubhub customers would be able to earn $1 in Bitcoin (BTC) rewards each time they used the platform’s extension or app. The funds will be available for transfer or storing in a user’s Lolli wallet after earning more than $15, or roughly 0.00026 BTC at the current price of $58,458. “We must make Bitcoin a part of everyday life,” said Lolli co-founder and CEO Alex Adelman. “Food delivery is a …

Konzum, the largest supermarket chain in Croatia, is keeping up with the times by debuting payments in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC). The company officially announced on Dec. 1 that it now accepts nine cryptocurrencies for payment in its online store, allowing customers to use crypto to buy groceries, hygiene products and household supplies. According to the announcement, the supported cryptocurrencies include Bitcoin, Ether (ETH), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), EOS, Dai (DAI), XRP, Stellar (XLM), as well as stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC). To enable the new crypto payment option, Konzum partnered with a local crypto payment processor Electrocoin …

Major American electronics retailer Newegg continues diving is enabling payments in major cryptocurrency and mem, Shiba Inu (SHIB). Newegg officially announced Nov. 29 that it will start accepting SHIB as part of its holiday promotional campaign, starting “by early December.” Hey #ShibArmy, how we looking on America's largest digital out-of-home billboard? @ShytoshiKusama #Shib We'll be officially accepting @Shibtoken in by early December via @BitPay https://t.co/MR2ydiQpq6 pic.twitter.com/MyuxHSIjVw — Newegg (@Newegg) November 30, 2021 In order to enable the new payment option, Newegg partnered with cryptocurrency payments platform BitPay. The firm previously unlocked payments in another dog-themed digital currency, Dogecoin (DOGE), through …

The use of cryptocurrencies to evade international sanctions from various international governmental organizations like the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, among others, has been a concern for regulators ever since the creation of cryptocurrencies. The rapidly increasing adoption of digital currencies in the last two years makes this discussion more important than ever, especially with the advent of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) like the digital yuan. In an interview on Nov.17, United States Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said that the efficacy of U.S. sanctions would not be undermined by central bank …

South Park, the animated TV series which often tackles topical issues with a comedic twist, showed Bitcoin being used as a mainstream means of payment in the not too distant future. In the “Post COVID” episode of its 24th season which aired today, South Park depicted one of the show’s protagonists, Stan Marsh, paying for a stay in a cheap motel using Bitcoin (BTC) roughly 40 years from now, when the pandemic is jokingly about to end for good. The fictional Super 12 Motel Plus — in a future where nearly all brand names have “plus” and “maxx” included — …

From the rise of the Metaverse to major brands announcing nonfungible token (NFT) drops, cryptocurrency mass adoption is well underway. Americans in particular have taken a growing interest in crypto, as recent findings from the Pew Research Center found that nearly a quarter of 10,371 adults in the United States were familiar with cryptocurrency, while only one-eighth (13%) were entirely unfamiliar with the concept. Additional research from online broker firm, BrokerChooser, discovered that the U.S. is the third most interested county in NFTs, falling behind Canada and Australia. Given America’s curiosity for crypto, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that …