Leading Swiss online retailer Digitec Galaxus has announced that it will now accept cryptocurrencies, according to a press release published on March 19. Per the announcement, the shop is now accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Ethereum (ETH), Ripple (XRP), Binance Coin (BNB), Litecoin (LTC), Tron (TRX), NEO (NEO) and OmiseGO (OMG) for purchases worth over CHF 200 (about $200). The release further claims that the shop hosts around 2.7 million products, ranging from wheat beer to gaming PCs. The new payment method was reportedly jointly developed as part of a pilot project with Swiss payment processor …

An upcoming crypto ecosystem has bold ambitions to offer “a much smoother way of moving fiat and cryptocurrency over the internet,” enabling people to pay in the fiat or crypto of their choice — whatever the requested currency — without fees. YPTOspace says it plans to develop a “first-of-its-kind platform that connects blockchain assets to real-world payment platforms,” all with the goal to become a one-stop-shop for payments and transactions for consumers and businesses. The startup argues that the current landscape is a “miserable experience” for consumers and impractical for daily usage. Yet, at the same time, mainstream adoption of …

India’s largest e-commerce firm, mjunction services limited, has entered into a strategic partnership with blockchain shipping firm Shipnext, global maritime news agency Sea News reports Feb. 20. The new partnership intends to boost efficiency across mjunction’s supply chain, bringing value-added services to its clients, mjunction CEO Vinaya Varma said. Alexander Varvarenko, founder and CEO of Shipnext, said that mjunction’s large cargo base is expected to attract more traffic, shipowners and ship operators to Shipnext platforms. Mjunction services ltd is a joint venture of two Indian steel giants – the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Tata Steel. Mjunction is reportedly …

Patrick Byrne, founder and CEO of U.S. retail giant Overstock, is planning to sell the retail arm of his company to focus on blockchain by early next year, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reports Nov. 23. Byrne, known in the blockchain industry for his commitment to the technology, did not disclose the details of the agreement, nor did he name potential buyers; he did however tell the WSJ that he expects to have the deal closed by February 2019. The WSJ reports that Byrne has been planning to sell his e-commerce business since 2017 to fully devote himself to blockchain …

Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, is enhancing its Blockchain-as-a-Service (BaaS) offering outside China, the company announced in a press release on Oct. 24. Following the roll out of its BaaS platform in China, Alibaba Cloud will expand its enterprise-level blockchain service to major international markets including Europe, the U.S., and South East Asia. Based on two blockchain network implementations — Hyperledger Fabric and Ant Blockchain — Alibaba Cloud’s BaaS is now targeting global enterprises, enabling them to set up secure and solid ecosystem for blockchain developments, the press release notes. The blockchain solution …

A new decentralized e-commerce platform aims to allow online shoppers and e-commerce stores to combine purchasing power and microdistribution to access bulk pricing and discounts. Buying.com says that they have multiple solutions to the many issues faced by customers, describing themselves as ‘e-commerce reinvented’. According to the company, the four key elements of their project are MicroDistribution, purchasing power, storefront creation, and fragmentation. MicroDistribution are channels powered by decentralized networks and distribution ledgers. Purchasing power, means manipulating wholesale pricing advantages by offering customers ‘direct to consumer’ pricing via peer to peer networks. Storefront creation implies creating an e-commerce platform that …

A Swiss startup company is attempting to make using cryptocurrencies for online transactions as simple and safe as using PayPal. The main accusation of the mainstream media against crypto is that it is “a currency that is hard to spend.” Even though, according to CNBC, the total worth of Bitcoin spent on merchant services has increased to $190.2 million in 2017, from $9.8 million in 2013, however the market is still in its infancy. According to a study published by the Bank of Netherlands in February 2018, only two percent of online retailers accepted crypto, in spite of "substantial" interest. …

A division of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, JD Finance, has established the Smart City Research Institute at its headquarters in Nanjing, reported People’s Daily September 28. Jingdong Group (JD.com) is a Chinese e-commerce company that focuses on new technological implementation in e-commerce, logistics, and finance. With the new Institute, JD.com aims to facilitate the development of “smart city” construction with the use of artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and blockchain technologies. The company’s first regional headquarters in Nanjing will influence “the entire East China region” and aims to reduce industry costs and increase efficiency. The report states that the company …

CoinPayments.net, a platform for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-customer (B2C) crypto payments, reported to Cointelegraph that they will be partnering with the nonprofit Unify.org for World Peace Weekend. From Sept. 21 to Sept. 23, the charitable nonprofit campaign will empower over 1300 events all over the world, including the largest global meditation of millions of people for the Guinness Book of World Records. “CoinPayments will be waiving their industry-leading 0.5 percent fee for anyone who donates to Unify with any of the coins hosted on the CoinPayments platform,” reads the official press release of the company. CoinPayments offers a cloud payment …

A startup e-commerce ecosystem is turning to blockchain to help businesses become more operationally efficient, while enabling billions of users on social media “to generate income with ease.” TIPO says it has identified three major problems facing the e-commerce market today. According to the company, many of the platforms currently dominating the industry are too focused on buying and selling when there are many other services that can benefit merchants and their loyal customers. Plus, while online payments have continued to rise, market share is yet to reach its true potential. Lastly, businesses are wasting time and money through “suboptimal …

A new blockchain-based e-commerce marketplace claims its centralized rivals are harming the sector by overcharging buyers and unfairly treating merchants — and plans to launch a new model, offering “complete shopping protection, data security and minimal commission.” ApolloX says it is hoping to challenge “monopolistic intermediaries” with an ecosystem consisting of three building blocks. The first component is a protocol which the company says makes it easy for e-retailers to build decentralized e-commerce applications on a blockchain. The second block is the independent web stores and marketplaces that will be developed using its technology. Last but not least, ApolloX says …

A new platform is going to allow anyone to establish their own eCommerce content store and receive payments from anywhere in the world – reducing costs for their consumers and opening the door to fast-growing emerging markets. The platform would allow service providers and other entreprises to build up applications or services on it’s blockchain. Bezant claims that many small businesses and individuals are missing out on opportunities to thrive because they cannot accept alternative payment methods. Credit cards and bank transfers are the most commonly used and accepted means of payment worldwide, but unbanked consumers without access to these …