Online checkout firm Bolt has announced it is purchasing a company called Wyre, a crypto infrastructure provider. The acquisition will take place later in the year and will allow both companies to establish mainstream cryptocurrency payment systems for a wide array of separate businesses. Customers will also have opportunities to purchase non-fungible tokens (NFTs) directly through its platform.
Bolt and Wyre Work Together to Make Crypto Payments Easy
This move comes at a time when many people in America and around the world are demanding more access to crypto and options to utilize crypto to pay for goods and services. Ryan Breslow – founder and executive chairman of Bolt – explained in an interview:
This acquisition is the fulfillment of a long-time ambition. When I wrote the draft business plan for Bolt, I had always imagined cryptocurrency at its center. That was 2015, and the idea was a slide on a pitch deck. To think that seven years later we’d be partnering with Wyre to make that vision a reality is incredible. This acquisition will fast-track our efforts to democratize commerce, and it will serve as a powerful proof point for the union of cryptocurrency and commerce.
Maju Kuruvilla – CEO of Bolt – also released a statement, commenting:
Our merchant and retail partners expect us to always be innovating on their behalf because their customers demand it. That’s why it’s such a thrill to announce this acquisition, which is yet another step that Bolt has taken to improve the buying experience. This acquisition will pave the way for seamless, secure crypto transactions and NFT enablement for our retailers. Both consumers and retailers will benefit from a friction-free buying experience that supports crypto and NFTs natively. We’re also proud to bring Wyre’s unparalleled team and its advanced crypto stack into the Bolt ecosystem, and we’re excited about our joint mission of bringing crypto mainstream.
Both Bolt and Wyre are looking to decentralize commerce and utilize their combined technology to allow digital shopping for commercial enterprises that didn’t offer such options prior. Their efforts are to ensure access to digital payment options are made much easier for firms looking to participate through a new program they’re calling Checkout OS, a system that will grant customers easy checkout processes through one-click authentication, payments, and fraud protection.
All transactions will occur by converting whatever crypto consumers utilize to pay for their items into fiat currency. Customers can use crypto for their purchases, but still garner the safety and protection that comes with traditional fiat currency.
This Is Innovation at Its Peak
Ioannis Giannaros – co-founder and CEO of Wyre – mentioned:
In a landscape filled with mediocrity, combining forces with Bolt to extend its robust Checkout OS into cryptocurrency will set a new standard and provide new opportunities at a global scale. Simply put, we want to allow every retailer to transact easily in cryptocurrency, removing long-standing barriers.
