Crypto exchange Coinbase said that United Kingdom-based users can now purchase Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and other digital assets using their iPhone’s Apple Pay feature.
Coinbase believes enabling Apple Pay would give its users a “more secure and private” way to buy crypto.
The exchange said that when users make Apple Pay purchases, the card numbers are not stored on the device or the Apple servers.
Coinbase explained that there’s a unique device account number assigned, encrypted and stored in an industry-standard chip for storing payment information.
Daniel Seifert, Coinbase country director for the U.K., said that the new integration helps make accessibility to digital assets easier in the country. He said:
“We know users already love using Apple Pay in their daily lives, so it only made sense to bring this convenient way to pay to Coinbase as well.”
According to Coinbase, over six million adults in the U.K. own crypto. The company said that the Apple Pay integration is part of its efforts to “increase this number” by lowering entry barriers to digital assets.
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The integration comes as the crypto space experiences a slowdown in volume and retail interest. On April 5, Coinbase said that crypto volumes are decreasing as the market tries to find the next narrative to fuel it higher.
The exchange noted that the upcoming Bitcoin halving could catalyze higher prices. However, the exchange also highlighted that it must deal with a “typically weak time of year” for risky assets like crypto.
Apart from low crypto volumes, social media engagement data also shows weak retail interest in crypto. On April 10, data shared by the social analytics platform LunarCrush showed fewer social media posts on crypto-related keywords like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana’s (SOL) token.
LunarCrush CEO Joe Vezzani said that retail interest and social interactions are low compared to previous major bull markets. Factoring out spam and bots, the executive believes that there may be a decline in social media activity within the crypto space.
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