Bitcoin now supported on Whatsapp

Zulu Republic has announced that its cryptocurrency tool Lite.IM is now also supported by the popular Whatsapp messenger. By contacting with a bot through the messaging app, users can send each other cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, litecoin, ethereum and the company’s native token ZTX.

After adding the bot to their contact list, Whatsapp users need to follow on-screen instructions to setup the transfer. However, currently the interface is slow and far from flawless. The message “Please enter a valid language” is replied very often by the bot.

Currently only the regular bitcoin network is supported. But Zulu Republic announced that it would switch to the faster and cheaper Lightning Network soon.

Even though Lite.IM is very new on Whatsapp, the service has been around for a while now. Last year Zulu Republic added bitcoin support for the Facebook Messenger version of Lite.IM, while Telegram is supported as well. In the US and Canada consumers can even send cryptocurrencies by using SMS.

Social media and cryptocurrencies are merging more and more. Russian social media platform VKontakte is working on its own project, while Facebook has been rumoured to introduce a cryptocurrency as well, including something for Whatsapp. At the same time blockchain startups like BitTube are trying to penetrate the social media market with their own products completely build on blockchain technology.

Originally published at NEDEROB.