Crypto Payment Platform BitPay Introduces Settlement in Stablecoins

Published at: Oct. 15, 2018

U.S.-based cryptocurrency payment processor BitPay has started accepting stablecoins, according to an announcement published Oct. 15. The company now allows its merchants to receive settlements in Gemini Dollars (GUSD) and Circle USD Coin (USDC).

Founded in 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia, BitPay provides payment services with Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) with a customer base of 20,000 businesses globally.

GUSD and USDC are Ethereum (ETH) blockchain-based stablecoins issued by regulated crypto exchanges Gemini and Circle. The value of each of these coins is tied to the value of the U.S. dollar at a 1:1 ratio, which purportedly reduces the risk of volatility.

BitPay says in its blog post that the stablecoins enable merchants to receive settlements in any part of the world even if they do not have bank accounts, since the coins exist on borderless blockchains. BitPay claims to issue settlement for GUSD and USDC within 24 hours after a merchant gets a sufficient settlement balance of 20 GUST or 20 USDC.

Last month, BitPay’s CCO Sonny Singh said that cryptocurrency markets are now on the threshold of a new stage of progress, which requires a certain “defining moment,” or a “catalyst.” Singh said that altcoins “will never come back” to their previous levels, while predicting that BTC “will rebound next year.”

Earlier today, crypto exchange OKEx announced the listings of four stablecoins  TrueUSD (TUSD), USD Coin (USDC), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), and Paxos Standard Token (PAX). Per the schedule, the stablecoins became available for deposits today, at 05:00 p.m. Hong Kong Time (HKG), with a number of crypto trading pairs. Withdrawal will be available starting Oct.16.

Today, Tether witnessed a significant drop in price, which was trading below its historical trading range. Although reasons for the USDT price plunge are not confirmed, there have been reports of an alleged loss of market trust leading to a possible sell-off. Yesterday, a Bloomberg article suggested that investors are “losing faith” because of the ongoing lack of transparency surrounding Tether’s claims to be backed 1:1 by the USD.

At press time, Tether seems to have rebounded, as it is trading at $0.98, down 0.58 percent on the day, according to CoinMarketCap.

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