MercadoPago, the fintech arm of e-commerce giant MercadoLibre, has enabled its Brazilian customers to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and the Paxos-issued U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin Pax Dollar (USDP). In a statement issued Thursday by U.S.-based Paxos, the blockchain infrastructure platform used by PayPal and Facebook, the partnership between MercadoPago and Paxos will allow users to pay for all products sold on the platform using cryptocurrency. Today marks another huge milestone in #crypto. @mercadopago, the largest payments provider in #LatAm, will offer Brazilian customers the ability to buy/sell/hold $BTC $ETH and the Paxos dollar #stablecoin $USDP #PoweredByPaxos https://t.co/Pfo3ZcAwwk …

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is the next company to wrap up its cryptocurrency-related services in response to the ongoing crypto crackdown in China. Alibaba officially announced Monday that its platform will prohibit sales of cryptocurrency miners and suspend categories for blockchain miners and accessories from its website on Oct. 8. In addition to stopping sales of crypto mining devices, Alibaba will impose a ban on using its platforms to sell major cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), as well as smaller coins like Quark (QRK). The new restrictions involve but are not limited to crypto mining-related hardware …

HODL Assets, a nonfungible token (NFT) aggregator platform, has announced the acquisition of blockchain-based social network and commerce platform CoinLinked. According to a release issued on Wednesday, Wall Street veteran and CoinLinked founder Jenny Q. Ta will also join the HODL Assets team as chief operating officer. The CoinLinked acquisition is part of a broader plan by HODL Assets to upscale its presence in the nonfungible token space with the launch of its NFT marketplace dubbed HODL platform. HODL Asset’s new NFT platform will reportedly offer gaming and social networking features to the expanding NFT space. The CoinLinked acquisition likely …

North American retail giant Walmart is looking for an experienced crypto expert who can develop and drive an ambitious digital currency strategy and product roadmap. In the listing for the role, Walmart indicates it is looking for someone who has a track record in leading and scaling businesses, with at least 10 years of experience in product/program management and technology-based product commercialization. The ideal candidate should have expertise in cryptocurrencies and blockchain-related technologies and in-depth knowledge of the crypto ecosystem and its core actors. Walmart has hinted at the focus of its future digital currency strategy by noting that it …

The NBA’s Chicago Bulls have launched NFTs depicting six championship wins from the 1990s via leading e-commerce platform Shopify. Shopify is a multinational firm that provides website-based storefronts and payments infrastructure. Shopify president, Harley Finklestein, announced the NFT drop on Twitter earlier today. If you’ve spent 1 minute on the internet this year, you’ve seen a lot about NFTs. @Shopify we are making it easier for our merchants to sell NFTs directly through their stores, with one of the first being the @ChicagoBulls NFT store. https://t.co/Qv2wKO7RCS — Harley Finkelstein (@harleyf) July 26, 2021 According to Finklestein, the Chicago Bulls franchise …

Coinbase Commerce, the e-commerce arm of the United States-based crypto exchange, has added support for Dogecoin (DOGE) payments. According to a Twitter announcement, Dogecoin became the seventh cryptocurrency for merchants to accept payments on Coinbase’s e-commerce portal. The platform currently supports Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Ether (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), along with stablecoins Dai and USD Coin (USDC). An integration with Coinbase.com enables Coinbase Commerce customers to convert their crypto payments into U.S. dollars, euros, British pounds or USDC without leaving the e-commerce portal. According to a blog post dated October 2020, the same integration for Coinbase Prime and Pro …

A crypto payments gateway says that it now makes it easy for online merchants in Africa to accept Bitcoin at the checkout. Paychant says its tool can be easily integrated into websites, WooCommerce, Magento, PrestaShop and an array of other online stores with a single line of code. This gives retailers access to a growing number of consumers who want to pay using cryptocurrencies. According to Paychant, its infrastructure is simple, secure and convenient — and is geared toward small and large businesses alike. Nonprofit organizations can also accept crypto donations with ease. Customizable widgets are offered that can be …

An app says it offers crypto rewards for shoppers who make purchases at some of the world’s best-known e-commerce platforms — including eBay, Amazon, Lazada, Best Buy and Nike. Inevitably, one of the downsides of indulging in a little bit of retail therapy every now and again means that you’re left with less cash after splashing out on a brand-new pair of jeans or some headphones. Social Good Foundation Inc., the operating company behind SocialGood, says that it aims to change the status quo — and end a vicious cycle that means many everyday consumers struggle to amass savings, irrespective …

Decentralized finance is far and away the hottest topic in crypto, touted as a way to make a fortune by backing the right token, but also a tool for taking the crypto you were hodling in a cold wallet and set it to work earning interest at extraordinary rates. There’s a reason DeFi has grown so large so quickly that it has slowed the Ethereum blockchain where most of the projects live to a crawl, and sent gas prices for transactions soaring to $10, $50, even $100 at times. DeFi is mostly talked about in terms of taking over the …

Shopping using cryptocurrencies is a hot-button topic right now — but how do you find the keys to the kingdom of crypto e-commerce? Here, Cointelegraph talks to Shopping.io CEO Arbel Arif about his vision for the future, the milestones that have been achieved since the platform launched six months ago, and the high-profile partnerships that have been instrumental for the site’s success. 1. Hello! Can you describe Shopping.io in a nutshell? Shopping.io is the bridge between crypto and retail. We are the leading provider of mainstream e-commerce solutions in crypto. We are the only company that offers you the ability …

JD.com has been using China’s Digital Currency Electronic Payment, or DCEP, system to pay the salaries of some employees since January. The e-commerce firm revealed the news on Sunday while announcing its participation in the one-year DCEP trial show at the fourth Digital China Summit in Fuzhou slated for Sunday and Monday. Commenting on its digital yuan adoption journey, the company stated that apart from paying staff salaries, JD has also utilized the DCEP in business-to-business payments to partner firms as well as cross-bank settlements. As previously reported by Cointelegraph, JD Technology and Digital Currency Research Institute — the company’s …

Crypto’s march towards mainstream adoption takes another significant step forward as the CEO of an e-commerce giant is publicly pondering how to integrate his company with the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. On Friday night, Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke posted a Twitter message asking the DeFi community what “role” Shopify could play in the growing financial vertical: Hey #DeFi Twitter. What are the commerce related opportunities that you are most excited about? What role do you want Shopify to play? — Tobi Lutke (@tobi) April 2, 2021 The inquiry drew hundreds of responses, including from multiple DeFi power players. Nansen’s Alex …