ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, Alchemy Pay's virtual card is now available on Google Pay and is set to launch on Samsung Pay soon, providing users with another seamless way to spend cryptocurrency. Alchemy Pay mentioned in its announcement on October 8 that the new Samsung Pay payment feature will be launched within weeks after the platform completed its integration with Google Pay in September.

ChainCatcher news, according to Decrypt, the Louisiana government has officially begun accepting cryptocurrency payments, becoming the latest U.S. state to accept digital currency for state services.Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming announced earlier this week that residents can now use a variety of digital assets to pay for state service fees, including Bitcoin, the Bitcoin Lightning Network, and the USDC stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar.The state reported that the first cryptocurrency payment has been completed, with a payment made using the Bitcoin Lightning Network for a fine paid to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Fleming noted that this advancement is the result of the state government collaborating with Bead Pay and local integration partners to modernize the payment system and reduce fraudulent transactions.

ChainCatcher news, Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Financial Market Committee of the State Duma of Russia, stated that the Central Bank of Russia and the Ministry of Finance are developing regulations to establish rules for cross-border cryptocurrency payments. The government's goal is to complete these regulations by the end of November.The Russian government will first test the cryptocurrency payment mechanism under the Experimental Legal Regime (EPR), meaning that only selected participants such as credit institutions and banks will be allowed to participate in the process, aimed at minimizing risks and helping to formulate regulations to protect the market from fraud.Aksakov revealed that companies are already using cryptocurrencies for import and export payments, with transaction volumes estimated to reach billions of dollars, emphasizing the need to limit the number of financial institutions participating in these transactions during the initial phase to better understand the market and develop effective regulatory provisions. (beincrypto)

ChainCatcher news, payment giant Mastercard has partnered with European crypto payment infrastructure provider Mercuryo to launch a debit card priced in euros. This card allows users to spend cryptocurrencies stored in non-custodial wallets directly. The service will charge certain fees, including a €1.6 card issuance fee, a €1 monthly maintenance fee, and a 0.95% withdrawal fee charged by Mercuryo.

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Flexa has launched Flexa Components, a tool designed to simplify merchant cryptocurrency payments, enabling what is known as direct, fee-free digital wallet transactions. Flexa states that Components will allow customers to pay for purchases using their preferred crypto wallets. Customers will be able to scan a QR code with their mobile wallet app or click the "Pay" button integrated into the merchant's payment system, similar to existing mobile payments like Google Pay.It is reported that Components supports multiple cryptocurrencies, including USDC, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), and Litecoin (LTC). Flexa has stated that signed retailers include Chipotle, Mikimoto, Regal Cinemas, and 99 Ranch Market.

ChainCatcher news, the Governor of the Central Bank of Russia stated that Russia plans to launch international cryptocurrency payments by the end of this year to counter Western sanctions. The central bank is prepared to take flexible measures and has already been discussing the conditions of this initiative with various ministries, agencies, and enterprises.In addition, the State Duma of Russia (the lower house of parliament) has preliminarily approved legislation allowing businesses to use cryptocurrency for international payments.

ChainCatcher news, the Governor of the Central Bank of Russia, Nabiullina, stated that the Central Bank of Russia expects to test cryptocurrency payments for the first time this year. (Jin Shi)

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, an annual survey by the Bank of Canada shows that Canadians have long preferred to pay with cash and debit cards in 2022 and 2023. However, over the past decade, the overall use of some alternative payment methods has increased, but less than 3% of Canadians used Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies for everyday payments for two consecutive years.Among many other alternatives to cash and credit cards, most Canadian respondents preferred to use electronic transfers. On the other hand, cryptocurrency remains the least popular payment method in Canada. In 2022, 2.2% of respondents used cryptocurrency for payments, and this percentage grew to 2.5% in 2023.

ChainCatcher news, Bolivia lifts the ban on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency payments, officially legalizing them for financial entities.

ChainCatcher news, according to Cointelegraph, crypto industry lawyer Irina Heaver believes that the recent regulations issued by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may ban cryptocurrency payments in the country. On June 5, the board of the UAE Central Bank discussed projects under the Financial Infrastructure (FIT) program, an initiative aimed at promoting digital transformation. During the meeting, the board approved the release of regulations for payment token services to regulate and license stablecoins. The new guidelines suggest that payment tokens in the country must be backed by the UAE Dirham and cannot be pegged to other currencies.Heaver pointed out that the new regulations effectively prohibit the use of cryptocurrencies for payments within the UAE, unless they are licensed Dirham payment tokens or registered foreign payment tokens, neither of which currently exist. She believes this move contradicts the UAE's stance of supporting business and investment, expressing concern that the new regulations will hinder the country's progress in the Web3 and cryptocurrency sectors.

ChainCatcher news, the cryptocurrency trading platform BitPanda has announced a partnership with Deutsche Bank, allowing German cryptocurrency traders to make real-time payments on BitPanda. This collaboration aims to enhance trading efficiency and security, providing liquidity for BitPanda's users in Germany.It is reported that the partnership with Deutsche Bank will allow BitPanda to use an API-based account solution, enabling the cryptocurrency trading platform to access German International Bank Account Numbers (IBAN). Users of BitPanda in the region will be able to utilize the deposit and withdrawal services of German IBAN, with all fiat deposit and withdrawal requests being settled in real-time through Deutsche Bank.

ChainCatcher news, according to TechCrunch, payment giant Stripe will resume accepting cryptocurrency payments after 6 years, initially supporting USDC, and will only be used on Solana, Ethereum, and Polygon. This is the first time Stripe has accepted crypto payments since 2018, when the company dropped support for Bitcoin payments due to high price volatility.It is reported that Stripe first attempted to re-enter the cryptocurrency market in 2022, announcing expenditures in the form of USDC (but not accepting payments), with X being a major client of the service.

ChainCatcher news, at the Oak Grove Crypto 2024 held on April 5, Binance's Director of Payment Business Development, Pakning Luk, shared the future trends of crypto payments in his keynote speech "Future trends of crypto payments".Pakning Luk mentioned that crypto payments are growing at a rate of 14% annually, with more and more companies recognizing crypto payments. This year, as the market improves, the number of crypto customers is also increasing. Additionally, more financial institutions are issuing debit cards, including VISA and MasterCard, allowing users to recharge and spend cryptocurrencies at very low costs, and Binance is collaborating with some financial institutions. Furthermore, an increasing number of people are using blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies. The 2023 maturity index for CBDCs, including research from jurisdictions with actual CBDC projects, indicates that the use of CBDCs is on the rise. Many CBDC projects exist in various regions, including the Bahamas, Jamaica, the Eastern Caribbean, and mainland China. Among the top ten countries, almost all have launched their own CBDC plans.It is reported that Oak Grove Crypto 2024 is initiated by Oak Grove Ventures and co-hosted by Polyhedra, Alchemy Pay, Ritual, and ChainCatcher, aiming to gather elites in the Web3 field to discuss and forecast the industry's development trends over the next five years. This grand event is expected to attract 500 to 1,000 industry elites, including innovative leaders, technical experts, and industry investors. They will engage in in-depth discussions on hot topics such as AI, DePIN, gaming, crypto payments, and Bitcoin infrastructure.

ChainCatcher news, according to Finbold, in recent regulatory developments, the European Union (EU) has now banned the use of unverified self-custody crypto wallets for any scale of cryptocurrency payments. This decision is part of a series of new anti-money laundering laws (AML) across the European continent.According to a post by Patrick Breyer, the majority of the leading committees in the European Parliament approved this ban on March 19.Specifically, the new anti-money laundering laws prohibit certain thresholds for cash payments as well as any anonymous cryptocurrency payments. In this context, any cash payment exceeding €10,000 will become illegal, and any anonymous cash payment exceeding €3,000 will also become illegal.The ban on cryptocurrency payments will specifically target unverified wallets operated by providers (custodial wallets). This includes any self-custody wallets provided by mobile applications, desktop applications, or browser applications.Furthermore, according to Dillon Eustace, the now-approved AML scheme will come into effect three years after its implementation. However, the Irish law firm anticipates that these laws will be fully effective before the usual enforcement timeline.

ChainCatcher message, in response to the statement "Coinbase Commerce no longer accepts payments using self-custodied Bitcoin wallets or other applications," Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated on social media that Commerce is using a new EVM payment protocol, allowing users to pay from any self-custodied wallet. He believes that in the future, payments using cryptocurrency will mainly occur on L2 blockchains and hopes to help achieve this goal.Currently, the fastest checkout method on Commerce is using any ERC-20 on L2 blockchains (Base, Polygon, etc.), including Ethereum, USDC, wrapped Bitcoin, and thousands of ERC-20 tokens. As an alternative, if customers have a Coinbase account, they can pay using their Coinbase account, which includes direct payments with Bitcoin.Additionally, Coinbase is integrating the Lightning Network. They hope to have the opportunity to use the Lightning Network for commercial payments in the future. They believe that until we move away from Layer 1 and reduce transaction fees and confirmation times, using cryptocurrency for online payments will not truly become mainstream, so they are working to accelerate the journey towards this world.

ChainCatcher news, according to Reuters, Ferrari (RACE.MI) marketing and business stated that its luxury sports car business in the United States has begun accepting cryptocurrency payments and will expand the program to Europe based on customer demand.Currently, cryptocurrencies are working to reduce their carbon footprint by introducing new software and increasing the use of renewable energy.