Shopify to Accept Crypto Payments Following Partnership with Alchemy
More crypto payment options are coming to Shopify as the e-commerce giants inks a partnership with Alchemy Pay.
At the start of 2020, the use of crypto payment channels for micro-transactions remained a major talking point as one of the important milestones for broad-based cryptocurrency adoption. With the coronavirus pandemic triggering a move towards contactless settlement infrastructure, payment means powered by virtual currency might experience a further increase in popularity.
Major Landmark for Crypto Retail Adoption
Hybrid crypto and fiat payment platform Alchemy Pay announced the news of the Shopify partnership via a press release issued on Wednesday (October 7, 2020). According to the press statement, Alchemy will be powering cryptocurrency payments for Shopify users.
Shopify shoppers will now be able to pay for their items using crypto tokens like Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). The other six supported “coins” are Tether (USDT), Litecoin (LTC), Binance Coin (BNB), Binance USD (BUSD), Gemini Dollar (GUSD), and Alchemy Pay (ACH); the native token of the Alchemy network.
With Shopify being a $120 billion company boasting online stores in over 175 different countries, the news of crypto payment adoption of the platform represents a major scoop for cryptocurrency acceptance in general. Shopify online stores will now join the 1.2 million merchants already supported by Alchemy Pay.
As part of efforts to incentivize merchants, payment settled in cryptos will not attract any fees until further notice. According to the press release, the end of the transaction fee holiday will see such levies charged in the ACH token providing more utility for Alchemy’s native cryptocurrency.
Commenting on the development, Alchemy Product Head, Shawn Shi remarked:
“This partnership effectively put the power of cryptocurrency acceptance in the hands of over a million Shopify eCommerce merchants who serviced over 218 million consumers in 2019. We’re truly excited to see where how far this partnership will propel the cryptocurrency space forward.”
As a brand, Shopify is no stranger to crypto adoption. The e-commerce giant previously rolled out cryptocurrency payment support for merchants back in May. In August, news of a Cardano (ADA) integration also emerged that would allow users pay for items using ADA tokens.
The news of crypto payments coming to Shopify is the latest development in the retail cryptocurrency adoption arena. As previously reported by BTCManager, Cardano is an accepted payment method on major retail brands like Nike and Airbnb.
Earlier in the year, the crypto rebates platform Lolli partnered with 950 retailers to promote Bitcoin adoption. Crypto rebates and reward programs also help to incentivize greater cryptocurrency adoption among merchants and consumers alike and is a market segment that is seeing increasing levels of activity.
