The creators of a cryptocurrency wallet say they’ll soon enable Bitcoin to be sent and received using Facebook Messenger.
Wuabit confirmed to Micky it is planning to integrate with a number of messaging apps to allow the exchange of not only BTC, but also Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin and XRP.
The company’s founder, Manuel Polo, says testing will begin on WhatsApp next month, before moving to Telegram and Facebook Messenger.
“We believe in giving more people the chance to use easily Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies within a familiar place like WhatsApp and other chat apps,” Mr Polo wrote on Medium.
“The world needs more ways to access a financial freedom leveraged by the blockchain and cryptocurrency.”
WuaBit says it is a software agent powered by specialised artificial intelligence and accessible via a chat interface.
Users will be able to send Bitcoin by simply typing a command such as “send 0.05BTC to Vera.”
WhatsApp is said to have 1.5 billion users around the world, while Facebook Messenger is used by 1.3 billion people every month, and is the most popular messaging service in Australia.
The announcement has led to excitement within cryptocurrency circles, but Wuabit has been quick to point out that it’s still early days.
“We are limited by WhatsApp,” Mr Polo told Micky.
“They have a queue of business API requests to approve.”
The company also took to Twitter to clarify that it is an independent crypto start-up and not in any way affiliated or connected with any of the messaging services.