Giant payments company Worldpay plans to verify blockchain transactions for the first time ever to better understand how money moves through digital ledgers.
According to a September 26 Bloomberg report, the international payments provider is already in talks with several blockchains in hopes of becoming a validator, network participants that monitor and verify transactions in digital ledgers.
“The idea is to be part of the ecosystem right at the grassroots,” said Sanchit Mall, web3 and Worldpay crypto leader in the Asia Pacific region. He explained that Worldpay plans to participate directly in blockchains so they can better understand the flow of money in digital ledgers.
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By 2024, Worldpay will have processed stablecoin transactions worth $1.3 billion. The total transaction value increased from less than $1 billion in 2023, but it is still a small fraction compared to the larger sum of $2.3 trillion in transactions that Worldpay facilitates annually.
Validators are responsible for maintaining the integrity of digital ledgers. To do this, they must isolate some of the original cryptocurrency from the blockchain, an act known as staking. In return, they receive fees for monitoring and verifying transactions.
Some notable crypto validators include Coinbase, Metamask, Helius, and Galaxy Digital. Worldpay will join this line-up for the first time in the company’s history.
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According to data from Solana Beach, Helius is currently the number one validator for Solana (SOL) with 12.8 million SOL tokens staked, followed by Galaxy and Coinbase with 12.7 million SOL tokens and 11 million SOL tokens respectively.
Although Worldpay has collaborated with other companies on crypto-related initiatives before. On March 7, 2024, Wordlpay partnered with web3 payment provider Wert to provide JCB, Amex and Discover cardholders with access and increase platform adoption to web3.
Worldpay was also one of the pilot partners, along with Checkout.com, for the payment engine of cryptocurrency custody provider Fireblocks in October 2022.
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