In an email sent to customers on July 5, crypto payroll company Bitwage announced that it would be disabling payments in USD Coin (USDC) for US residents.
Over the past month, financial regulators in the US have tightened their regulatory scrutiny over the crypto space, suing major crypto companies, including Binance and Coinbase.
The crypto payments company warned that users who fail to delete the stablecoin would have their wallets and bank accounts reset by July 13. It added:
“If it resets, you’ll need to reset your wallets and bank accounts before we can deposit your next paycheck.”
Meanwhile, the company noted that US residents can continue to receive payments in other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoin alternatives such as CUSD (Celo), Tether’s USDT and DAI.
Bitwage said the new measure will not affect non-US residents.
The move comes less than a week after the company announced a partnership with Vibrant “to make USD stablecoin payments seamless and free for remote workers worldwide.”
Bitrefill’s market research consultant Matt Ahlborg pointed out that this move could be a positive for BTC, as the flagship’s usage has declined in recent years as stablecoins gained ground. Ahlborg added, “increasing restrictions on stablecoins are likely to swing the pendulum back towards BTC.”
According to its website, Bitwage has processed more than $200 million in payroll payments and has registered more than 50,000 employees on its platform.
The company is headquartered in San Francisco and has payroll offices in the US, Europe, Latin America and Asia.
Bitwage had not responded from CryptoSlate request for comment at the time of going to press.
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