Circle, the company behind the USD Coin linked to the US dollar, has started a partnership with Apple Pay. The idea behind the collaboration is to bridge the gap between traditional payment systems and the crypto world. What does this mean for the crypto industry?
What makes this possible?
The integration of Apple Pay into Circle’s ecosystem allows crypto companies to accept payments from people who don’t own crypto. Thanks to Apple Pay, people can pay with traditional payment methods, while the crypto companies in question get USD Coin (USDC) deposited in the background. With this, the company bridges the gap between the traditional financial world and the crypto world.
With Apple Pay, customers can then pay online and in apps using their iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad and other devices that support it. To pay in apps and on websites, customers simply select Apple Pay as the payment option. Then the payment is made automatically after verification with Face ID or Touch ID.
“This is the next step in our mission to bring traditional finance and digital payments closer together. […] It’s all designed to enhance USDC’s capabilities for businesses and allow customers to pay the way they feel comfortable with. Stay tuned for further improvements”, thus Circle about the integration.
Good for the industry
In this way, NFT marketplaces, crypto exchanges, wallets and even parties that make international transfers more efficient by offering customers the option to pay via Apple Pay and Circle. This is ultimately how crypto and paying with crypto become a serious option for the general public. Most people will not quickly install their own wallet, but this can be a way to easily get in touch with crypto.
USDC is the second largest stablecoin in the market after Tether (USDT). In an interview with news site Cointelegraph, Circle’s Joao Reginatto shared that the company sees a future with many different blockchains. provides. That in itself is not surprising, if you consider that the USD Coin is already running on various blockchains at the moment.
Incidentally, both Tether and Circle indicate that they have no exposure to FTX and therefore do not get into trouble. There were some rumors that Tether ran into problems, after which the link with the dollar was lost, but in the meantime Tether has also returned to a value of 1 dollar.