KEY POINTS

  • WeWork will start utilizing cryptocurrencies as a flexible and convenient mode of payment for its services
  • It has partnered with BitPay and Coinbase  partners in providing a new payment scheme
  • WeWork plans to go public this year

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies continue to gain global acceptance as a mode of payment, and this leading space provider is taking the lead.

In an announcement on Tuesday, WeWork revealed that it will begin providing a new payment scheme to its customers via cryptocurrencies. The American real estate company that provides flexible shared workspaces in more than 120 cities from over 30 countries, said it had partnered with BitPay and Coinbase to start accepting select cryptocurrencies for its inbound and outbound transactions.

The company will start accepting Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), USD coin (USDCD), Paxos (PAX) and several other digital currencies as payment for its services through BitPay.

"WeWork has always been at the forefront of innovative technologies, finding new ways to support our members. It only makes sense for us to expand on the optionality we provide by adding cryptocurrency as an accepted form of payment for our members," said Sandeep Mathrani, WeWork CEO.

BitPay CEO Stephen Pair added, “WeWork is giving their customers an innovative payment option that is cheaper and easier than credit cards and taps a community valued at over $2 trillion.”

The space provider will also include the currencies as assets on its balance sheet. It will also pay landlords and third-party partners in cryptocurrencies through Coinbase, Coindesk noted.

Coinbase, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency trading platform, will be WeWork’s first member company to use cryptocurrency as payment for its membership. The move signifies the growing demand for cryptos as a better and more convenient payment option.

In March, WeWork agreed to a merger with special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) BowX Acquisition Corp., the Wall Street Journal reported. The deal includes plans to go public and list on the New York Stock Exchange later this year.

While some pundits argue that Bitcoin is in a “bubble” and will soon burst, investors and traders alike see it otherwise. Bitcoin price still sits at $54,563, a 699% increase from last year.

As Pair said, "crypto is the future of fintech and payments."

WeWork is back with a public share listing, two years after the high-flying office-sharing firm went into a tailspin that led to the cancelling of a planned share offering
WeWork is back with a public share listing, two years after the high-flying office-sharing firm went into a tailspin that led to the cancelling of a planned share offering AFP / TIMOTHY A. CLARY
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