Game Changer? Solana Pay To Usher In 'New Era' Of Crypto Payments

Solana Labs, the entity behind high-speed blockchain Solana SOL/USD, has launched a new payments protocol that will let merchants accept crypto payments directly from consumers.

What Happened: In an announcement on Tuesday, Solana unveiled Solana Pay which will let merchants accept USD Coin USDC/USD, SOL, and other crypto tokens built on the Solana blockchain.

A game changer payments protocol from @solana will change the way we pay crypto

Wider and broader crypto payments in real-time is around the corner  https://t.co/2FTQg3gdFh

— delvingdeep.sol (@deepcryptonft) February 1, 2022

Solana Pay is a result of a partnership with stablecoin issuer Circle, Checkout.com, and Citcom as well as wallet integrations with Phantom and FTX.

Why It Matters: Sheraz Shere, Solana’s head of payments and former head of partnerships at Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ: GOOGL) Google Wallet, said the solution is bigger than enabling consumers to “pay with crypto.” 

“Rather, this is about a vision where all currencies – including U.S. dollars – are on-chain and used for a wide range of transactions,” he said.

Last month, strategists at Bank of America Corp BAC said Solana had the potential to become the Visa Inc V of the digital asset ecosystem.

Bank of America analyst Alkesh Shah argued that Solana’s low transaction fees, ease of use, and scalability could help it take market share away from Ethereum ETH/USD.

Price Action: At press time, SOL was trading at $110.38, gaining 3.38% in the last 24 hours. SOL has rallied by 13% in the last seven days, outperforming the wider crypto market.

Also Read: Coinbase To Support Solana Ecosystem: Report