The company has recently launched Walletconnect Pay, a solution designed to address the common challenges that merchants encounter when integrating cryptocurrency payments. The company stated that it will pivot to payments in 2026 and has already executed several partnerships to this end.
Walletconnect Pivots to Payments in 2026
Walletconnect, a crypto connectivity protocol, has announced that it will now focus on bringing crypto-based payment services to the mainstream.
Earlier this month, Walletconnect CEO Jess Houlgrave revealed that the company’s strategy would be to integrate with other payment services instead of trying to substitute them, building the crypto equivalent of fiat credit giants like Visa and Mastercard.
Houlgrave stated that Walletconnect has the advantage of linking an ecosystem of over 700 wallets globally, millions of users, and billions in capital. This gives the company leverage to solve the crypto payments problem.
Walletconnect is already advancing initiatives toward this new goal, as the company revealed a partnership with Ingenico, a French company that builds payment solutions, to allow merchants using Ingenico’s solutions to accept USDC payments in several Ethereum Virtual Machine ( EVM) networks such as Polygon, Base, Arbitrum, and Ethereum.
Walletconnect allows payments to be executed in any wallet using the connectivity protocol, offering versatility to crypto natives using stablecoins.
For the company, this is the right time to enter the crypto payments industry, now that stablecoins have been growing steadily and that regulation is starting to take shape.
Steven Dolcemaschio, Walletconnect’s CMO, believes that payments were the primary force behind crypto, but that, somehow, in the way, the final goal shifted to appeal to other users, while payments got left behind.
About the payment problem with crypto, he stated:
This isn’t just a tech debt problem. It’s a design and branding challenge. We need infrastructure that works invisibly and a culture that makes it trustworthy. People don’t need to know it’s crypto. They need to know it works.
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FAQ
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What is Walletconnect’s new focus in the crypto industry? Walletconnect is shifting its strategy to integrate crypto-based payment services into mainstream financial systems, aiming to rival traditional credit services like Visa and Mastercard.
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What advantages does Walletconnect have in this market? With over 700 wallets globally and a vast user base, Walletconnect holds significant leverage to address crypto payment challenges.
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What partnership has Walletconnect formed to advance its goals? The company has partnered with Ingenico, enabling merchants to accept USDC payments across various Ethereum Virtual Machine ( EVM) networks, including Polygon and Arbitrum.
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What underlying challenges does Walletconnect see in crypto payments? CMO Steven Dolcemaschio highlights that enhancing crypto payments requires not just technological solutions, but also design and branding improvements to foster trust and usability.
