BitPay’s Bold Move into XRP Payments

On January 21, BitPay, a titan in the world of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payment services, made waves in the crypto community by officially launching support for XRP payments and enabling cross-border transfers. This means that the cryptocurrency commonly used on Ripple’s network can now be utilized for transactions via BitPay’s Wallet app.

Confirmation amidst Rumors

Although buzz about the integration was circulating on social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit as early as January 20, BitPay clarified the confusion by confirming their collaboration with Ripple’s developer platform, Xpring. The excitement was palpable for the XRP community, which has been yearning for more adoption.

Seamless Acceptance for Merchants

According to Bill Zielke, BitPay’s Chief Marketing Officer, merchants partnered with BitPay globally are now empowered to accept XRP with no additional integration hassles. Zielke emphasizes that this step not only accommodates consumers eager to transact in their currency of choice but also introduces merchants to a burgeoning audience of XRP enthusiasts keen on advancing real-world adoption. His words resonate:

“With the addition of XRP, BitPay continues to expand consumers’ ability to transact in the currency of their choice…”

eGifter: Leading the Charge in XRP Acceptance

Excitingly, the online gifting platform eGifter is poised to be one of the first merchants to embrace XRP. However, don’t rush to load your wallets just yet—as technical implementation is still underway. For context, eGifter has long been a trailblazer in the crypto realm, having accepted Bitcoin for gift card purchases since 2014. CEO Tyler Roye expressed enthusiasm about the XRP addition, stating,

“We’re excited to add XRP as a payment option on the eGifter platform…”

Trends in Crypto Gifting

The addition of XRP to eGifter’s offerings comes on the heels of their 2019 announcement to support Dash payments, alongside continuing to accept Litecoin. Interestingly, 2019 saw a noticeable uptick in crypto sales during the holiday season, as per a Yahoo Finance article. Bill Egan, eGifter’s VP of Marketing, mentioned,

“We saw more gifting with crypto in 2019, compared to buy-for-self use cases in prior years.”