It is now possible to send and receive cryptocurrency in WhatsApp, the most widely used social messaging application with more than 1.5 billion users worldwide. The service has been made possible thanks to the Zulu Republic, a blockchain ecosystem that seeks to bring blockchain and cryptocurrencies to the masses. According to the Zulu Republic, social messaging is currently the best vehicle to drive adoption going forward.
In a blog post from December, the service reported that “[s]ocial messaging is booming, and has even been outpacing the growth of traditional social media platforms for a few years now.”
Earlier this week, the startup tweeted the launch of WhatsApp service that makes use of the earlier launched social media bot Lite.im bot which is already available for use in Facebook’s Messenger App, Telegram and good-ol’ fashioned SMS. According to the tweet, the service supports both bitcoin and Litecoin transactions, however, further reports have shown that users can also transact Ethereum’s ether [ETH] and Zulu Republic’s native cryptocurrency ZTX.
To use the service, you will have to install the Lite.im bot on your WhatsApp account then follow the onscreen prompts to set up a wallet. The bot allows users to select their default coins for use when transacting and also selecting between the two available languages – English and Spanish. In addition, users are offered cryptocurrency to recommend the service to their friends and family, an extra incentive to ensure the service builds with a rising user-base.
As mentioned previously, Lite.im is seeking to bring cryptocurrency to the mainstream through social messaging platforms. However, they are neither the first nor only ones with the same vision. Dash-focused blockchain startup Dash Text has launched its service in Venezuela and Colombia allowing its users to send and receive Dash coins through SMS applications available on all phones including feature phones. In March this year, another crypto upstart Wuabit revealed that its plans launch a crypto service that allows for sending and receiving crypto through WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, and text is close to launching.
There is a race to becoming the application or service that brings cryptocurrency to the masses but none is at more of an advantage that Facebook itself which is in the final stages of launching its highly secretive cryptocurrency stablecoin that will be used to send and receive payments across its main social platforms including WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram.
