Today cryptocurrency payment solution UTRUST announced that it has secured a partnership with Ethereum Classic Dev Team, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). ETCDEV will collaborate with UTRUST to integrate ETC into the UTRUST platform, with the assistance from the Ethereum Classic Cooperative.

The partnership between ETCDEV and UTRUST comes at a time when demand for ETC is rising rapidly, due to the recent integration of ETC by Coinbase, the world’s largest cryptocurrency brokerage, wallet, and custodian.

Additionally, the decision of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to declare Bitcoin and Ethereum as non-securities, cleared Ethereum Classic from potentially being considered a security. As such, merchants can freely accept ETC as an alternative payment method to fiat and consumers can use it knowing that the utilization of ETC cannot be considered as an act of illegally distributing securities.

“Ethereum Classic is one of a select few cryptocurrencies with clear institutional demand.” said Nuno Correia, CEO and co-founder of UTRUST.

Earlier this year, Grayscale Investments, the $2 billion investment arm of Digital Currency Group, launched Ethereum Classic Investment Trust, enabling retail traders and institutions in the regulated US market to invest in Ethereum Classic. With it, Grayscale Investments allocated $90 million into ETC, demonstrating confidence in the long-term adoption rate of ETC as a leading cryptocurrency.

Correia added, “While blockchain payments have undoubtedly disrupted financial transactions, at UTRUST we believe it’s our responsibility to add a much-needed layer of consumer protection, as well as instant transactions and low fees, for anyone who wants to utilize Ethereum Classic for payments.”

UTRUST acts as a third-party mediator, holding funds, if necessary, until the seller delivers the product or service. In addition, the company protects buyers and sellers from market volatility, by converting cryptocurrencies to fiat or a stable coin.

The company enables friendly dispute resolutions between buyers and sellers. In case the parties fail to reach an agreement, UTRUST steps in, upholding standards like those of traditional payment solutions such as Paypal, Adyen, Klarna and VISA.

To supplement the UTRUST merchant payment protocol, the integration of cryptocurrencies with long track record, robust infrastructure, active developer community, and solid demand from the market is crucial.

Every cryptocurrency that is integrated with into the UTRUST ecosystem of merchants and consumers is required to have strong fundamentals that would ultimately lead to mainstream adoption. For merchants, it is of utmost importance to rely on digital assets that are backed by strong demand from the market and are cleared by the government from any regulation or compliance-related issues.

About UTRUST:

UTRUST has steadily built upon its reputation as one of the principal secure payments gateway providers, dedicated to bringing crypto payments to the mainstream. Over the past 12 months, the company has joined forces with the likes of blockchain technology provider, DigiByte, Singapore based POS platform, Pundi X, Germany’s largest e-commerce solution, Gambio, and UMT, the largest technology platform for Mobile Payment and Mobile Commerce in Europe.