Stablecoin provider Tether and video platform Rumble launched a non-custodial crypto wallet on Wednesday, enabling users to tip Rumble content creators with digital currencies.
The wallet will initially feature Tether’s dollar-pegged stablecoin, USDt (USDT), Tether Gold (XAUt), a tokenized commodity, and Bitcoin (BTC), as per an announcement from Rumble.
MoonPay will facilitate fiat currency on- and off-ramps for Rumble Wallet users, allowing them to convert crypto into local currencies.
Tether and Rumble originally planned to launch the wallet in December, after resolving code and user experience issues.
Cointelegraph contacted Rumble and Tether but had not received any response at the time of publication.
The inclusion of crypto tipping on Rumble enhances the role of crypto as a medium of exchange, rather than focusing primarily on market speculation or store-of-value purposes, which have largely characterized Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies in general.
Related: ‘Like sats for Bitcoin,’ Tether introduces tiny gold unit amid rising on-chain demand
Crypto is emerging as the future of internet-native value transfer, but challenges persist
“Peer-to-peer payments powered by crypto are the future of the internet economy,” said Ivan Soto-Wright, CEO of crypto payments company MoonPay.
The world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, was intended as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, according to the Bitcoin whitepaper released by the pseudonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto.
Nonetheless, low transaction throughput, with blocks forming approximately every 10 minutes and relatively high fees, has impeded its widespread use as a payment method, particularly for small purchases where transaction fees exceed the cost of goods or services.
Currently, Bitcoin is mostly utilized as a store-of-value asset or speculative tool, with users accumulating BTC for long-term price appreciation rather than for use in transactions.
Stablecoins, which are blockchain tokens backed by assets such as fiat currencies or government securities, address this issue by providing near-instant settlement times and relatively low transaction fees, thereby enabling value transfers over the internet via blockchain technology.
Despite the advantages of rapid, cross-border value transfer, stablecoins are still criticized for the inflation of the underlying fiat currency, centralization, and potential for confiscation, critics argue.
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