Despite cryptocurrencies becoming a lot more appealing, spending them is still problematic. Very few retailers accept Bitcoin or cryptocurrency payments these days. That situation is slowly coming to change. Basepay is bringing Ethereum payments to over 11 million locations, with an option to connect this particular solution to Apple Pay.

Big News for Ethereum

Basepay has successfully surprised virtually everyone in the cryptocurrency world. The firm announced today how their app makes it possible to spend Ethereum at over 11 million retailers. There is support for nearly 400 million retailers in total, as online payment support is also built in. Bringing Ethereum payments tor retailers and consumers is a big development for the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.

The team is confident this new solution will yield some great results. Although usability will depend on location and phone OS, the target release is set for Q4 of 2018. Android users will receive access to this application first and foremost. iOS Support is coming later, as Apple usually takes longer when it comes to vetting new applications. This is especially true when said application is linked to cryptocurrency.

Contrary to what people expect, the technology itself isn’t the big hurdle. Instead, it is the potential regulatory impact in various countries. Not every region is pro-cryptocurrency. this has become painfully apparent in China, India, and a few other countries. Additionally, there is no active cryptocurrency regulation in most of the world today. Applications such as Basepay may speed up the need for guidelines, albeit its real impact has yet to be determined. It could spell a bright future for Ethereum.

An Uphill Battle Awaits

Despite the initial enthusiasm, the Basepay team is aware the real battle has yet to begin. Especially in the United States, seeking money transmitter licenses for individual states will be a major hurdle. The team has a compliance expert on their payroll to speed up this process accordingly. Other countries may pose similar challenges along the way, depending on how the regulatory situation evolves.

As is usually the case, the Ethereum community is both excited and wary of this project. Given the growing list of dubious companies in this space, a cautious approach is more than warranted. Not too long ago, the LitePay project went up in smoke because of a shady individual. Basepay will – hopefully – fare a lot better in this regard. Some scrutiny regarding these projects is healthy, at least until the service is officially launched.

Future plans for this project include spending in all cryptocurrency wallets and the launch of an API. Open sourcing the code may occur as well, but not until the project is “perfected internally”. Furthermore, there will be an issuance of a native Stellar Asset through the Stellar Decentralized Exchange. No specific details regarding this asset have been announced at this time.