Despite their falling prices, bitcoin and its altcoin cousins are just as popular as ever, it seems. Many organizations in foreign nations, including Cielo in Brazil and Bitwala in Europe, are looking to make it easier for customers to get their fingers on digital currencies for payments and investment purposes.
Cielo and Bitwala Are Doing their “Bitcoin Best”
Cielo is a payment processing firm stationed in Brazil, a country that presently houses more than 200 million people. The company announced its support for bitcoin and other digital assets through a press release, stating that customers can now make bitcoin purchases through the enterprise’s “point-of-sale devices” by creating respective accounts with any of its network partners. These devices then develop special QR codes which customers can scan using any partner-based apps.
Towards the end of the year, customers will be able to purchase cryptocurrencies through Cielo, a first for the company and for many individuals in Brazil. The crypto presence within the South American nation has been growing steadily over the years, and Cielo is about to increase that presence tenfold. Bitcoin has long been popular within Brazil’s borders, with platforms such as O Globo reporting that many people are more invested in bitcoin then they are in standard stock shares.
Last February, the country’s largest bank announced that it was looking to raise $15 million for a new digital token it had developed.
5,000 miles away, a company called Bitwala has allegedly garnered the same idea in its head. Based in Germany, the company is launching a new banking application containing an “integrated bitcoin wallet.” Bitwala is looking to offer its services in more than 30 countries throughout Europe.
At press time, the application is only available for iOS or Android devices, but the process of obtaining a Bitwala account is relatively simple. Residents must first open an account with a German bank through a “video identification function.” From there, they can begin making euro deposits (as many as 100,000 euros at a time) which can then be transferred into BTC. Customers will also obtain a Mastercard-based crypto debit card for any future transactions.
A statement for Bitwala explains:
The current accounts are hosted by Solaris Bank, the Berlin-based tech platform with a German banking license and are supervised by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Ba Fin).
BTC Should Be Spent!
Bitwala executives claim that the bitcoin wallets available with each app download can be used for “everyday expenses” such as food, clothing and utility payments. In addition, customers can also obtain private keys that will allow them to send BTC funds to friends and family members.
Bitwala has been around since December of 2018. Last month, the company raised an astounding 13 million euros from companies like the Sony Corporation in Japan.