Shopping using cryptocurrencies is a hot-button topic right now — but how do you find the keys to the kingdom of crypto e-commerce? Here, Cointelegraph talks to Shopping.io CEO Arbel Arif about his vision for the future, the milestones that have been achieved since the platform launched six months ago, and the high-profile partnerships that have been instrumental for the site’s success. 1. Hello! Can you describe Shopping.io in a nutshell? Shopping.io is the bridge between crypto and retail. We are the leading provider of mainstream e-commerce solutions in crypto. We are the only company that offers you the ability …

A Bloomberg contributor will be paying his son Bitcoin in exchange for chores above and beyond his usual scope, but he is seemingly unable to decide on the best means of payment. In an opinion piece today, Eddie Yoon said he would pay his seventh grader 0.00055 Bitcoin (BTC) — roughly $23.50 at the time of publication — for the boy helping him with competitive pricing benchmarking for a rental property. Yoon said he gave his son Luke a choice of “cash, candy, or Bitcoin” for the work, closing the deal with a handshake. According to the Bloomberg contributor, the …

A city in North Dakota is joining the cryptocurrency adoption race in the United States by starting to accept crypto payments. Hercules Cummings, finance director for the City of Williston, announced Thursday that the city administration has partnered with crypto payment firm BitPay to start accepting cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as payment for utility bills. “We have partnered with BitPay, the largest virtual payment merchant whose partners include Microsoft and Facebook. We are the first municipality in the State of North Dakota, and the third in the nation, to offer this service,” the city executive stated. Utility bill payments will …

The government of Bahrain, the third-richest Arab country, is working with American investment bank JPMorgan Chase on a digital currency settlement pilot. The Central Bank of Bahrain officially announced Tuesday that the bank is now collaborating with JPMorgan and the Arab Banking Corporation BSC, or Bank ABC, in a pilot scheme to introduce an instant cross-border payment solution based on digital currency technology. Aiming to cut settlement processing time, the new digital currency pilot will involve transferring funds from and to Bahrain in U.S. dollars for payments from buyers and suppliers. The central bank emphasized that it could move forward …

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has stirred the proverbial “doges’ nest” once again with another tweet about the quintessential meme coin, Dogecoin (DOGE). Tweeting on Tuesday, Musk ran a Twitter poll asking respondents whether they want Tesla to accept Dogecoin as a payment method. Do you want Tesla to accept Doge? — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 11, 2021 The poll, posted at 8:00 am UTC, garnered over 400,000 responses in the first 10 minutes and is almost at the 1-million mark, as of the time of writing. Musk’s Twitter poll will run for 24 hours and could be a precursor to …

In an August 2020 paper “Is bitcoin money?” Peter Hazlett and William Luther wrote that there exists only “a small corner of the internet where transactions are routinely conducted with Bitcoin serving as the medium of exchange.” But that corner may be growing into a room, or even a house now. “Demand for Bitcoin has certainly grown over the last year,” co-author Luther, assistant professor of economics at Florida Atlantic University, told Cointelegraph in a recent conversation. “As new users find themselves with Bitcoin, and existing users find themselves with more Bitcoin, it’s only natural that more people will consider …

In recent weeks, it has been hard to get through a day without running into a headline, or 50, referencing Dogecoin (DOGE). The meme cryptocurrency has seen its price appreciate exponentially on the heels of a series of celebrity endorsements, including billionaire Mark Cuban, Kiss member Gene Simmons and entertainment icon Snoop Dogg. It is easy to dismiss what is going on with DOGE amid another round of hype-fueled frenzy — like the ones seen before — especially with “The Dogefather” Elon Musk workshopping ideas ahead of his Saturday Night Live hosting gig on May 8. However, this time, something …

Luxury Miami apartment Arte Surfside will now accept cryptocurrency as a form of payment for its remaining luxury residences — including the Villa Nove penthouse, currently listed for $38 million. The firm has partnered with trading platform SolidBlock, allowing potential buyers to pay in multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin and Ether. The region’s “most exclusive” condominium is already home to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, as well as fashion blogger Arielle Charnas from Something Navy. It’s now attempting to appeal to crypto millionaires and billionaires attracted by Miami's Bitcoin-friendly reputation. According to the announcement, the cheapest condo available starts at $10.3 …

Canadian payments giant Nuvei is reportedly in talks to acquire Simplex, an Israeli cryptocurrency startup, for up to $250 million — sending a strong signal that the electronic payments processing industry is pivoting toward digital currencies. The deal between Nuvei and Simplex is expected to be finalized “in the next few days,” according to BlockBeats, a Beijing-based blockchain publication. The deal could be worth between $200 million and $250 million. Neither Nuvei nor Simplex have confirmed the sale at the time of publication. By targeting Simplex, Nuvei is clearly expanding its efforts to corner the cryptocurrency market. In March, Nuvei …

In addition to its increasing attention from investors, Dogecoin (DOGE) appears to have found a niche following among sports fans. Speaking to Cointelegraph, Dallas Mavericks basketball team owner Mark Cuban said that the people had “taken control of DOGE,” as evidenced by the tickets and merchandise sales he had seen since first offering the token as a method of payment in March. Prior to adopting the asset, the Mavericks had already been accepting Bitcoin (BTC) payments through BitPay since 2019. However, Cuban indicated that no other cryptocurrency had quite produced the numbers the team has seen from Dogecoin: “We sell …

The Central Bank of the Bahamas is preparing a national push for its digital currency this summer to get more Bahamians signing up for the Sand Dollar. In another move toward the adoption of the Bahamas’ central bank digital currency, the CBOB is now focused on connecting mobile Sand Dollar wallets with commercial banking systems, CBOB Governor John Rolle announced. According to a Wednesday report by the Nassau Guardian, Rolle said that the Bahamian government has initiated a number of measures to prepare itself and the Sand Dollar ecosystem. “There is a focus now on enrolling individuals on those various …

A survey by credit card giant Mastercard has revealed that four in ten people plan to use cryptocurrency for payments within the next year. The survey, published on May 4 and titled ‘Consumer Appetite for Digital Payments Takes Off’, polled more than 15,500 people across 18 countries. It revealed that millennials are especially engaged in cryptocurrencies, with over two-thirds, or 67%, agreeing they are more open to using cryptocurrency than they were a year ago. Additionally, it reported that 77% of millennials are interested in learning more about cryptocurrency, while 75% agree they would use digital assets if they understood …