The Bitcoin Company announced this month the launch of its new Remittances API, enabling individuals and institutions to send instant payments to bank accounts in Mexico.
The API marks the company’s expansion into international remittances, with the company planning to extend services to the United States and Europe.
Said Ben Price, Founder and CEO of The Bitcoin Company, “Disrupting the remittance market is a key milestone in our roadmap to provide easy to use Bitcoin-native financial services and has always been a compelling application for the Bitcoin network. With Bitcoin, payments can be cheap, instant, inclusive, and global.”
According to Mexico’s central bank, more than $63 billion in remittances were sent to Mexico in 2023, with most of the money arriving from the United States.
The figure is a 7% increase from the prior year.
With technology being woven into the fabric of our everyday lives, the next generation of the internet, commonly known as Web3, aims to change this by creating a secure, decentralized system that allows users and organizations to regain control of individual privacy and network systems.
Said Edward Cullen, CEO of enterprise Crescite and thought leader on Web3, “While blockchain technologies are most often associated with cryptocurrency trading and decentralized finance (DeFi), Web3 has the potential to deliver so much more.”
“As with any natural evolution Web3 promises to build on the immense progress already achieved while improving on the challenges that emerged alongside our transformation into the digital era,” added Cullen.
It’s long been expected, given its size, that remittance would be an area disrupted by emerging technology. By leveraging the bitcoin network, in this case, Bitcoin Company’s Remittance API offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional banking rails like SWIFT.
Disclosure: This article mentions a client of an Espacio portfolio company.