The big news late last week was how Apple’s iMessage would integrate various payment applications. Circle is among them, albeit there was no official word on whether users could send Bitcoin to one another. The new update for the app seems to indicate both fiat currency, and Bitcoin transfers will be supported. This is major news for Bitcoin, although the success of this feature has yet to be determined.
Bitcoin Transfers Come To iMessage
For those lucky users who have a device running iOS 10 – which is expected to be released in the net 24-36 hours – the new iMessage will become a lot more versatile. While it has been a great tool to communicate with friends and family, payment options will be integrated. This will allow users to send money through the messaging system, which can be quite convenient.
While most of the attention will on Square Cash being integrated, Bitcoin users have plenty of reason to rejoice. The addition of Circle Pay to iMessage will let users send US Dollars, Pounds, Euros, and Bitcoin to any other contact or phone number in the world. This is another vote of confidence by the technology industry for what Bitcoin is bringing to the table.
It is also possible to send Circle Pay transfers to users who do not have the native application installed yet. Users who receive a transfer can click the interactive message to cash out, or create an account for future usage. This will allow anyone to send Bitcoin worldwide while using the iOS proprietary messaging platform.
To put things into perspective, there is no reason this will make the Bitcoin price go up by several hundreds of dollars overnight. It remains to be seen if and how many people will decide to use Circle Pay to send money to friends and family. It is another use case for Bitcoin, but its chance of success remain unknown for now.
The new iOS 10 update is expected to roll out in the next 24-36 hours to US users. International users should see the update appear around the same time, and should be able to explore the Circle Pay integration as well. Very exciting days are ahead for the cryptocurrency ecosystem, that much is certain.
Image credit 1
If you liked this article follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin and altcoin price analysis and the latest cryptocurrency news.
