WhatsApp Launches A New Feature, Letting Users Send Money

This week, WhatsApp, messaging service application, announced that it is piloting a new feature. This update will allow U.S. users to send money in cryptocurrency without paying a fee.

The new payment service marks another example of how digital currencies are becoming increasingly accepted in the mainstream financial community in the United States.

Novi, a recently launched digital wallet owned by WhatsApp parent company Meta, will support the crypto function. People can use it to send money internationally. In a joint tweet on Wednesday, WhatsApp CEO Will Cathcart and Novi CEO Stephane Kasriel stated that the company began testing Novi on a specific set of users in Guatemala and the United States six weeks ago. Base.

Anyone using Novi during the trial period will send money through U.S. Pax Dollar (USDP), a regulated cryptocurrency issued by the New York blockchain company Paxos Trust.

According to the Novi website, USDP is designed to be pegged to the value of the U.S. dollar to avoid price fluctuations associated with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. 1 Pax Dollar equals 1 U.S. dollar. Users top up their Novi account through a free app, automatically converting these dollars into Pax.

Users who have access to WhatsApp-Novi can select the feature by pressing the paperclip icon and selecting payment. Novi said there are no fees for sending or receiving funds. Hence, there is no limit to the number of times users can make payments.

It is not yet clear what Meta’s long-term ambitions for Novi are. However, suppose the service continues to exist. In that case, it will join the already crowded market of money transfer apps such as Zelle, Venmo, and Cash apps.

Binance Plans To Launch A Crypto Exchange In Indonesia

According to reports, Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, is negotiating with Indonesia’s wealthiest family, Hartono’s, to open a cryptocurrency exchange.

Binance Holdings Ltd. seeks to finalize a crypto joint venture with PT Bank Central Asia (BCA), controlled by Budi and Michael Hartono, and PT Telkom Indonesia, Indonesia’s largest state-owned telecommunications company.

The report also claimed that BCA might use a separate business entity to establish a partnership, and the terms of the association may be different when it is finalized. If finalized, this will be Binance’s second crypto company in Indonesia. The first is the form of cooperation with the crypto trading platform Tokocrypto.

New crypto companies involving the country’s wealthiest families and largest telecommunications companies will pass aggressive crypto regulations to give Binance a firm foothold in the country. The Indonesian government regards the crypto market as an investment category and allows it to be traded with commodity futures.

After facing significant regulatory challenges in the second and third quarters of 2021, Binance is now seeking to expand its footprint in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Singapore branch of the crypto trading giant recently acquired an 18% stake in the local private stock exchange Hg Exchange. The cryptocurrency trading giant led another round of US$1.5 million in funding for BBS Network, an Asian tokenized messaging platform.

In addition to new acquisitions and financing, it is reported that Binance’s sister company in the United States, Binance.US, is in the final stages of completing a multi-million dollar financing. Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Global Exchanges, revealed in November that the comp expects to raise hundreds of millions of dollars.

Florida Will Allow Residents To Pay Fees In Crypto

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has formally proposed that the state government allow companies to use cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) to pay state fees.

The Republican governor announced this idea in the 2022-2023 budget proposal issued on December 9.

According to the official budget focus, DeSantis proposes to provide US$200,000 to the Department of Financial Services to allow Florida companies to pay state fees directly to the State Department through cryptocurrency.

DeSantis also proposed to allocate another $500,000 to explore the potential of blockchain technology in maintaining motor vehicle records, verifying Medicaid transactions, and detecting potential fraud.

The budget proposal states that the entire $700,000 proposal is dedicated to creating a cryptocurrency-friendly Florida state.

Florida has been steadily becoming a primary cryptocurrency-friendly jurisdiction in the United States because one of its major cities, Miami, is actively promoted as the “Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Capital of the World.”

Last month, the Mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, announced that his goal is to become the first American lawmaker to accept a partial salary in Bitcoin. According to reports, the official owns both BTC and Ether (ETH).

In September, the Commissioner of the City of Miami voted to accept funds generated by the new MiamiCoin cryptocurrency launched in August by the smart contract agreement CityCoins. The Mayor of Miami stated that as of mid-November, MiamiCoin had generated more than $21 million in revenue, provided to all Miami residents in Bitcoin dividends.

The post WhatsApp Launches A New Feature, Letting Users Send Money appeared first on FinanceBrokerage.