Bitcoin wallet launches in-store payment option

Circle users can now use their phones to pay with bitcoin at participating retailers.

The bitcoin wallet now allows customers using its mobile app on NFC-enabled android phones to spend bitcoins in physical stores, Venturebeat reports. Mobile payments are on the rise, especially tap-to-pay devices, with 500 million people expected to be making transactions via NFC in 2019. A growing number of merchants including Home Depot and Time now accept bitcoins, and may be open to the tap-to-pay option.

BitPay already has a similar set-up, also leveraging NFC-enabled Android phones to spend bitcoins. The company claims that 44,000 merchants use its software to accept bitcoins, but it is unclear how many actually accept bitcoin in brick-and-mortar stores.

Bitcoin prices dropped again at the beginning of 2015, and this weekend’s Bitstamp hack has done little to assure potential users of the safety of the crypto-currency. Its current user base is still fairly slim, but will welcome another way to pay with bitcoin.

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