WhatsApp tests payments in crypto for US users

WhatsApp is a messaging service with millions of users worldwide, some of which can send payments through the service depending on their location. Now, the popular Meta subsidiary might soon add the option to send another form of money: cryptocurrency.

The app has reportedly started a pilot program by which a "limited" number of users will gain the option of sending crypto to each other. This could be an important step in getting those assets into general circulation.

On the other hand, WhatsApp's new feature only pertains to Pax Dollars (USDP), a stablecoin with a value pegged to that of the US dollar in its current form. It also requires the use of a specific wallet (a form of hardware- or software-based storage often necessary for crypto safeguarding or transfer) provided by Novi (formerly Calibri), originally developed for Meta's purposes.

Novi has announced that its new, in-testing integration into WhatsApp allows eligible users to send PAXD like any other attachment on pressing the '+' or the paperclip in the iOS and Android versions of WhatsApp respectively. It is not clear when or if this new feature will see a more general roll-out at present.

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