BitPay to add support for XRP later this year

Cryptocurrency • October 2, 2019, 8:30AM EDT
UPDATED: October 2, 2019, 5:48PM EDT
The Block

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Blockchain payments provider BitPay will add support for XRP, the world’s third-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, by the end of this year.

Revealing the news exclusively to The Block on Wednesday, BitPay said it has partnered with Ripple’s Xpring unit to integrate XRP on its platform so that businesses and merchants can accept the cryptocurrency.

“XRP can offer a payment option that is fast, cost-effective and scalable,” said Sean Rolland, director of product at BitPay.

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With the partnership, BitPay’s wallet users, as well as its prepaid cardholders, will also be able to store and spend XRP via its merchants and businesses.

Just last month, BitPay added support for ether (ETH) cryptocurrency. The firm also supports payments in bitcoin (BTC) and bitcoin cash (BCH), as well as three stablecoins - Circle and Coinbase-led USD Coin (USDC), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), and Paxos Standard Token (PAX).

BitPay processed over $1 billion in payments last year from global merchants including Microsoft, Dish Networks, FanDuel and Avnet. “BitPay’s B2B business continues to grow rapidly as our solution is cheaper and quicker than a bank wire from most regions of the world,” Stephen Pair, co-founder and CEO of BitPay, said at the time.

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Yogita Khatri is a senior reporter at The Block, covering all things crypto. As one of the earliest team members, Yogita has played a pivotal role in breaking numerous stories, exclusives and scoops. With nearly 3,000 articles under her belt, Yogita holds the records as The Block's most-published and most-read author of all time. Prior to joining The Block, Yogita worked at crypto publication CoinDesk and The Economic Times, where she wrote on personal finance. To contact her, email: [email protected]. For her latest work, follow her on X @Yogita_Khatri5.