BitoPro, a cryptocurrency exchange, has collaborated with Bluechain Technology to launch BitoPay, a cryptocurrency payment service that allows over 300,000 merchant partners to instantly convert BTC, ETH, and USDT into New Taiwan Dollars for payment. This makes BitoPro the first cryptocurrency exchange in Taiwan to partner with a third-party payment provider.
The BitoPay service supports Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and USDA stablecoin (USDT), and plans to add more high-liquidity cryptocurrencies, including BitoPro’s native token BITO, in the future. To welcome Web3 users, BitoPay and Bluechain announced that merchants will be exempt from transaction fees until July 31st.
Consumers with a BitoPro account and cryptocurrency holdings can use the BitoPay service at merchants using Bluechain’s payment system. The process involves scanning a QR code, confirming the transaction details, and the merchant receiving the New Taiwan Dollar equivalent of the cryptocurrency payment.
Bluechain, a leading domestic and cross-border payment provider, has chosen BitoPay’s cryptocurrency payment gateway infrastructure, making BitoPro the first cryptocurrency exchange in Taiwan to handle high-volume payments, transaction verification, and instant New Taiwan Dollar settlement.
BitoPro CEO Cheng Kuang-tai explained that BitoPay is the first step in building a cryptocurrency payment ecosystem, further expanding the use cases for Taiwanese consumers to use or invest in cryptocurrencies. He also noted that as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) are important gatekeepers for anti-fraud and anti-money laundering efforts in Taiwan, having the exchange as the debit provider adds an extra layer of security for third-party payment providers.
Cheng stated that BitoPay’s integration with Bluechain required significant communication and reporting to the relevant regulatory authorities, as third-party payments fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Commerce, while VASPs are overseen by the Financial Supervisory Commission. He welcomes other local VASPs to collaborate with BitoPay’s payment gateway to collectively reduce industry costs.
BitoPay’s key feature is instant settlement, allowing merchants to easily convert the cryptocurrencies held in the exchange’s custody into fiat currency for e-commerce payments. This model is similar to the credit card services offered by exchanges like Binance and Crypto.com, as well as the recent relaunch of cryptocurrency payments by Stripe in the US.
In contrast, Maicoin, another major Taiwanese exchange, offers a payment service called MaiPay that focuses on direct integration with merchants, aiming to create a closed-loop cryptocurrency payment ecosystem without instant fiat currency settlement.
Bluechain’s management stated that the company currently has no plans to directly accept or process cryptocurrency payments, instead focusing on the fiat currency settlement model provided by BitoPay. This reflects the challenges faced by merchants in Taiwan, where cryptocurrency-specific regulations and accounting standards are still evolving, making it difficult for businesses to directly accept cryptocurrencies. The BitoPay solution helps increase cryptocurrency adoption, but may not fully address the needs of merchants and existing cryptocurrency users who wish to hold and transact directly in cryptocurrencies.