Button Wallet, a crypto wallet running on popular messaging
app Telegram, has announced the addition of a new feature that allows users in
the US to buy cryptocurrencies using fiat currency right within the app, the
company said on Thursday.
The new feature was made available by integrating Wyre into
Button Wallet and allows users to get verified and purchase cryptocurrencies
with a debit card within an hour.
Commenting on the feature launch, Alex Safonov, CEO of
Button Wallet, said:
“Letting users buy-in with fiat just as quickly and easily will only make crypto even more appealing and accessible for more people. They will be able to trade BTC, BCH, ETH, ETC, LTC, Waves, Dai and ERC-20 tokens without external fees, and will be able to pay friends and clients alike for everything from freelance gigs to split Coachella expenses.”
Wyre, an exchange that offers crypto-to-fiat and compliance
solutions via API and dashboard, said the partnership with Button Wallet reflects
its commitment “to help lower the barriers to entry for crypto platforms by
offering our partners compliant ports into a regulated fiat world,” the company
wrote
in a blog post.
“The simpler and safer these financial products become, the more people will be able to experience the benefits of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies.”
According to Safonov, global digital transactions are
projected to top US$6 trillion by 2022, an opportunity for cryptocurrencies to
enter the mainstream as long as pain points can be remedied.
“Too often, buying cryptocurrency can be confusing for users. Sometimes it can take up to three weeks to be verified for a new user to purchase crypto with fiat within the US,” Safonov said.
“By placing our wallet directly in the popular Telegram app — something we think all finance apps will do in the next two or three years — we believe we can help more people enjoy the benefits of cryptocurrency and decentralization.”
Launched in 2018 and developed by Button Blockchain
Technologies Inc., Button Wallet is a messenger-based software solution for
microtransactions that allows users to send cryptocurrencies using Telegram usernames.
It is a non-custodian wallet, meaning that doesn’t store user information,
passwords or QR codes. An
integration with Changelly enables users to exchange one cryptocurrency to
another within the app.
Earlier this month, the wallet surpassed the 100,000 user
milestone. The company says it has seen a concentration of users in the US, the
UK, Indonesia, Venezuela and Germany. It now plans to add support for Telegram’s
GRAM cryptocurrency in the third quarter of 2019.