Midwest Tungsten to accept bitcoin through OpenNode partnership

Good news for folks looking to swap coins for cubes.

Midwest Tungsten, the metals supplier that's become an on-ramp to the tungsten market for the growing community of tungsten cube-crazed cryptocurrency enthusiasts, is planning to accept cryptocurrency, The Block has learned.

Last week, CoinDesk reported that Midwest Tungsten had seen prices for retail cube sales increase by 300% over the course of a week. At the time, the firm said it was considering accepting crypto. Now it says it will take bitcoin through a partnership with bitcoin payments processor OpenNode.

Tungsten — a typically cube-shaped metal known for its sleek look and density — has become a sort of meme commodity as of late, seeing a surge in interest particularly among crypto traders and other market participants, as Bloomberg recently pointed out. CMS Holdings and Castle Island's Nic Carter are among the crypto market fixtures that have recently jumped on the tungsten bandwagon (although Carter claims to be a longtime advocate). 

THE SCOOP

Keep up with the latest news, trends, charts and views on crypto and DeFi with a new biweekly newsletter from The Block's Frank Chaparro

By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
By signing-up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

"Crypto just has a propensity for the density," CMS' Dan Matuszewski told The Block, referring to the rally in interest. 

In Carter's view, the craze could be a "passing fancy." 

"But the cubes will be forever (tungsten is a  very chemically stable element)."

For more breaking stories like this, make sure to follow The Block on Twitter.

About Author

Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].