Blockchain Will Integrate BitPay's System for Wallet Payments

Originally published on Coindesk

Bitcoin wallet and blockchain explorer provider Blockchain announced a partnership with the largest bitcoin processor, BitPay.

According to a blog post published today, Blockchain will integrate BitPay’s payment architecture into its wallet service. This partnership will allow Blockchain wallet users to pay merchants online or on mobile.

BitPay processes approximately $1 billion in bitcoin alone every year for businesses and individual clients and over $2.8 billion in other cryptos for institutional clients since 2011. The firm has built an ecosystem of merchants that accept their payments – including Amazon, Delta, and Hotels.com – because, as a payment processor, it offers the option to settle in fiat currencies and provides invoices.

Likewise, Blockchain is often regarded as one of the world’s largest wallet providers with approximately 38 million users, of which more than half are located outside the United States. Further, the firm’s wallet users account for roughly a quarter of all on-chain bitcoin transactions.

“We’re excited to see this new addition connect our Wallet users to the world of merchants that accept Bitcoin (and soon other cryptos) as a payment method — one of the key ways to interact with and grow the digital asset ecosystem,” Blockchain writes in a statement.

Blockchain’s wallet service is non-custodial and offers an optional know-your-customer (KYC) verification for users who want in-wallet trading capabilities. Whereas, BitPay requires its users to undergo KYC requirements.

In July, Blockchain unveiled its crypto exchange platform the PIT, with optionality to connect the firms wallets for nearly instant transfers.