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New Payment App Code Uses Crypto for Ultra-Fast Transactions
Code is an up and coming cryptocurrency wallet that facilitates transfers of fiat currency across borders. KIN is a token that operates alongside Code to facilitate these transfers of currency.
If you’ve ever been frustrated with a Western Union before, then crypto payment apps might be the competing service for you. Let’s explore in more detail below.
A History of Kin
Kin was started as an app in 2017 by Kik Interactive, the same company that makes Kik messenger, an instant messaging app. The original intent of kin was to monetize Kik in a way that did not involve advertisements and data collection. In order to manage this currency, Kik Interactive established a non-profit called Kin.
In 2019 Kik Interactive was sued by the SEC for selling unlicensed securities in the form of Kin. Once the lawsuit was settled, Kin began shopping around for blockchains to settle on. Kin was on Ethereum, Stellar, and then finally Solana in 2021. The Solana blockchain became the home for Kin because Solana resolved the scalability problems Kin was having at the time.
Code – The Wallet
Code got involved when Ted Livingston, the founder of Kik, started up Code as a non-custodial wallet built into the Kin application. In February 2023, Kin was forked by a team of employees at Code who had creative differences about how best to control inflation. This fork was called Bits and after a row within the company, the entire Kin foundation team was fired by Ted Livingston after the team had said they resigned.
Since February, Ted Livingston has not abandoned Kin and Code, even in spite of a turbulent startup and development history. In July of this year, there was a vote on the Kin blockchain to burn several trillions of the token.
10 trillion KIN was held in just two wallets, with one being held by the Kin foundation, and this degree of centralization was making the currency unusable. Ted Livingston put the Kin foundation out of service, which leaves KIN where it is today – a fully decentralized cryptocurrency that is governed by token holders. KIN has no foundation and no website today.
What Does KIN Do Now And How Does it Work?
So after all the FUBARs got resolved, KIN is in a very workable state today. KIN is a token, Code is a wallet. Code is not a public ledger, meaning that transaction history is hidden from public viewing. Code lets you send cash in one country to anyone else in the same country or a different country.
For example, let’s say you want to send $10 in USD to a friend in India. Once sent on Code, the USD you sent on the app is converted to KIN. The money then reaches the recipient on the app, and is converted from KIN to the Indian Rupee.
This all happens automatically and the user experience resembles sending a transfer through Venmo or Paypal. It’s like having a Western Union that fits in a mobile app. You don’t really need to know anything about KIN or crypto to use the app, which may be one of its most appealing features to mainstream customers.
Crypto Payment Apps
Code is hardly the only competitor in the burgeoning crypto payment space.
Crypto payment apps, sometimes called crypto payment gateways, are apps that send fiat currency in one currency to another currency and the means of exchange for this conversion is cryptocurrency. As mentioned above, Code does this by using the KIN token as a means of exchange for fiat currencies.
Essentially, they’re automated middlemen through which to send money around the world. Crypto payment apps aren’t available everywhere in the world yet, but they are available in most of the world. Generally the fees and transaction speed are superior to traditional payment methods such as wire transfer or Venmo. They are also cross-border services.
Before using a crypto payment app make sure your locally used currency is transferable on the platform. Code today is one of many apps that allow users to transfer money using their mobile device.
Coinbase Commerce
One noteworthy competitor comes from the Cryptocurrency giant, Coinbase. Coinbase offers a service called Coinbase Commerce which performs the same function as KIN does, and all you need is a Coinbase account to get started. Where Coinbase Commerce differs, is in its custodianship.
The wallet for Coinbase Commerce is a custodial wallet which is a hot wallet which comes with certain security risks, but does come with the potential advantage of having a customer service desk to go to for assistance if you select the plan for that.
Stripe Enters Crypto
If you’ve ever made a substack account, you might be familiar with Stripe. Stripe is an e-commerce platform that hasn’t entered the field of cryptocurrency until recently.
In 2022, Twitter announced they would run a pilot program with Stripe to attempt to monetize user created events on the platform with cryptocurrency. However, this was when Twitter was in the process of being bought by Elon Musk, so whether or not the change in ownership will affect this is up in the air. However, Stripe does offer crypto payment services independent of Twitter deals.
Summary: Which App Will Reign Supreme?
In closing, while KIN has had a turbulent past, it has come through it all as a cutting edge crypto payment app that functions similarly to a Western Union. However, if Code’s history doesn’t sit well with you, there are plenty of other options available. Among the more reliable options are Coinbase Commerce and Stripe.
With crypto payment apps, you can send money around the world with an interface that’s just as easy to use, if not easier, than Venmo or Paypal.
