Opera’s mobile and desktop browsers are expanding cryptocurrency purchases to U.S. users, as the Norwegian company looks to continue building its Web 3.0 credentials. Through a partnership with Wyre, a U.S.-licensed money transmitter in the cryptocurrency sector, Opera will enable U.S.-based customers to buy Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) directly from the browser’s crypto wallet. Android users can use debit cards, while Apple iOS device users can purchase using Apple Pay. Purchasing via the mobile browser — branded Opera for Android, or Opera Touch in the Apple App Store — has been open to residents of Sweden, Denmark and Norway …

A major digital asset platform is making it even easier to order that double espresso with an extra shot. Starbucks mobile app users will soon be given the option to pay for their drinks with “Bakkt Cash.” Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), parent company of the Bitcoin derivatives provider, had declared back in August 2018 that the coffee giant was looking at retail applications for crypto payments. Today, Bakkt President Adam White announced the new payment integration with Starbucks on Twitter: We're also reducing payment costs for merchants which improves their bottom line. Open your @Starbucks app to see our first direct …

Although cryptocurrency payments still only account for a tiny fraction of revenue on adult entertainment sites, a new integration on the Pornhub platform is looking to finally deliver against expectations that have been running high for years. PumaPay’s new crypto payment solution went live on Pornhub this week — more than 18 months after the partnership was first announced. After an extensive development process, the company believes its more user friendly solution will overcome the barriers to adoption that has seen PornHub’s existing crypto options, including Verge and Tether, barely used. Pornographic websites and cryptocurrency seemed to be natural bedfellows: …

Billionaire Jack Ma, owner of payment app Alipay, seeks to lure 44 million merchants to expand services for the app’s 900 million users in everything from real estate purchases to restaurant and cinema bookings, according to a March 10 report by Bloomberg. Alipay is aiming to attract these merchants and service providers in China with mini programs — lite apps that sit on top of its interface and provide quick access to services. Coronavirus has boosted demand for online services Demand for online services has reportedly surged in China since the outbreak of Coronavirus in December. He Yongming, vice president …

Crypto developers must follow consumers closely if they want the industry to take off in a big way, Paypal’s chief technical officer has said. Sri Shivananda — an eBay veteran who has been in his role at PayPal since 2016 — made his remarks at the Economic Times (ET) Global Business Summit, ET reported on March 9. During his speech, Shivananda noted that cryptocurrency has, in many cases, become more akin to “asset play” than to currency. He said: “The main thing to keep in mind in this business is to follow consumers. If consumers start to feel like there’s …

As part of ongoing fiat-to-crypto expansion, major cryptocurrency Binance is adding support for the Nigerian Naira (NGN) on its peer-to-peer (P2P) platform. Binance P2P, a consumer-to-consumer business arm of Binance exchange, is rolling out support for the first African fiat currency on its platform. According to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Binance P2P users can trade major cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) using NGN with zero transaction fees starting from March 4. Users in Nigeria can now post trade ads via P2P Merchants The NGN integration also allows users in Nigeria to directly purchase and sell cryptos like Bitcoin, Ether …

Digital payment platform Uphold has announced a new debit card, allowing users to pay with converted crypto, commodities and cash. Uphold’s new multi-asset debit card allows United States-based participants to spend assets held in their Uphold accounts at any Mastercard compatible location, a representative from Uphold told Cointelegraph in an interview. “Anywhere globally where Mastercard is accepted, they will be able to use this debit card,” she said. United States-based customers can now join a waitlist to get the card, which touts compatibility for 24 crypto assets, 27 fiat currencies, and four metals including Bitcoin (BTC), Basic Attention Token (BAT), …

Major decentralized finance (DeFi) player MakerDAO (MKR) partnered with payment processor Simplex to create a fiat on-ramp for its Dai (DAI) decentralized stablecoin. According to an announcement on Mar. 3, the partnership makes it possible to buy Dai with the credit and debit cards of Simplex’s partner firms. Maker’s business development representative in Europe, Gustav Arentoft, said: “Having Dai integrated into Simplex is a benefit to current and future users, [...] it gives them a straightforward fiat on- and off-ramp with access to the industry’s biggest players.” MakerDAO is a leading player in the DeFi space and the organization behind …

Cross-border payments do not appear to be a priority as countries all over the world to engage with their own digital currency projects, a new report says. While global governments are competing to become the first country in the world to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC), no CBDC project really focuses on cross-border payments, according to a new study released by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). No ongoing global CBDC projects explicitly focus on cross-border payments The BIS’ new CBDC revelation is part of the bank’s quarterly review, the “International banking and financial market developments,” issued on …

The Central Bank of Brazil made some waves last week with its new instant payment system. While not blockchain-based, the new system, dubbed PIX, nevertheless is imbued with some of blockchain’s core attributes. Money transfers have historically been slow, cumbersome and expensive. For example, Bank A takes its fee when a payment is sent and Bank B also charges its fee when the payment is received. More intermediaries mean additional fees and sometimes more delays. But now the Brazilian central bank, or BCB, wants to cut out those intermediaries. The central bank will enable peer-to-peer and business-to-business transactions in 10 …

Hours after experiencing a major denial of service attacks (DDoS) attack, Bitfinex has announced it repaid another part of the loan facility to Tether. In a Feb. 28 blog post, Bitfinex revealed that the cryptocurrency exchange repaid $100 million of outstanding loan facility to major stablecoin operator Tether (USDT). Similarly to a previous repayment in July 2019, Bitfinex processed the transaction in fiat via wire transfer wired to Tether's bank account. According to the post, the payment has been made “all on account of principal,” while interest on all amounts due under the facility agreement has been prepaid up to …

Multi platinum-selling recording artist Akon has chosen to build his Akoin cryptocurrency ecosystem on top of the Stellar blockchain. Akoin co-founder and president Jon Karas said they chose to launch the project on Stellar due to sharing similar values. “Akoin selected Stellar’s distributed, hybrid blockchain due to a shared vision for creating global financial inclusion, particularly in areas such as Africa,” he explained in a Feb. 28 announcement. Part of Stellar’s mission is to help bank the unbanked and Akoin’s spokesperson highlighted the fact Stellar was already working with businesses in Africa and could help with the project’s planned Dapps …