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The VerifiedX Foundation has launched Butterfly, a social-payment and commerce platform that allows users to send and receive VFX, the native VerifiedX cryptocurrencies—Bitcoin, USDT, and USDC coins—instantly via text message, email, or any social-media handle.
The new service combines the ease of the Venmo and Zelle peer-to-peer payments networks with the sovereignty of blockchain ownership, The VerifiedX Foundation says. The VerifiedX Foundation is a decentralized organization that supports open blockchain infrastructure for the daily use of cryptocurrency.
With Butterfly, consumers can send and receive funds directly from any existing wallet or exchange, according to VerifiedX. Butterfly users can also send money with a credit or debit card using on- and off-ramp providers, such as Crypto.com, MoonPay, Banxa, or Stripe Inc.
There are no limits on the amount of money that can be transferred. The cost of each transaction is one cent.
While Butterfly is intended to provide crypto users a simpler way to initiate P2P payments, the service faces an uphill battle in competing against existing P2P payment rails, such as Zelle, as they already support a payment-friendly environment, says Aaron McPherson, principal at payments advisory AFM Consulting.
“When you look at the existing P2P rails, that’s a tough market to crack,” McPherson says. “Venmo, Zelle, and PayPal work very well. Plus, there is not widespread demand yet for crypto as a payment option because most people who buy crypto hold on to it for investment purposes.” Venmo is part of PayPal Holdings Inc.
In related news, stablecoin issuer BitRail is enabling consumers to fund their BitRail wallets using credit cards or through the automated clearing house. Plans are also in the works to offer a Buy Now, Pay Later option, the company says.
BitRail’s white-label platform enables merchants to launch their own branded wallet and stablecoin and reduce payment-acceptance fees up to 50% through BitRail’s closed-loop payments network. BitRail, a licensed money transmitter in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, has 1.2 million registered users. BitRail’s branded stablecoins are pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar.
“Merchants shouldn’t be forced to rely solely on expensive, outdated payment rails,” BitRail chief executive Jeff Siegel says in a statement. “We provide the infrastructure and compliance so merchants can focus on growth, customer engagement, and profitability.”
In yet more crypto news Friday, XYRA Corp., a subsidiary of Cavitation Technologies Inc., announced a partnership with Bitcoin Bancorp Inc. a blockchain company and owner of two Bitcoin ATM patents.
The partnership combines XYRA’s AI-driven payments platform, currently in development, with Bitcoin Bancorp’s licensed ATM network and technologies to deliver “next-generation crypto payment solutions” across North America, the two companies say.
Bitcoin Bancorp— a company specializing in Web 3.0 technologies and formerly known as Bullet Blockchain Inc.—will integrate XYRA’s technology across its ATM network to provide consumers access to tokenized payments and advanced fraud detection, the company says. Bitcoin Bancorp reportedly has more than 200 ATMs operated by third parties.
Efforts to transform cryptocurrency into a mainstream payment option have been heating up after passage this summer of the GENIUS Act, but applications enabling crypto-based payments in the United States still seem to be a “solution looking for a problem,” McPherson says
“We keep seeing efforts to make crypto easier to use as a payment option, but there is still quite a bit of skepticism around crypto as a payment option in the U.S. because there are so many consumer-friendly payment options,” McPherson adds. “The GENIUS Act created a lot of excitement ahead crypto, but that excitement is ahead of where the market actually is.”
“It’s sobering,” he says, “when you dig into the details of how much still has to be done” to make crypto a mainstream payment option.
