Author
Sujha Sundararajan
Author
Sujha Sundararajan
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Cryptonews sat with Jamie Elkaleh, Chief Marketing Officer at Bitget Wallet, during Token2049 Singapore, discussing how stablecoin QR payments are becoming the norm as they surge to dominate crypto transaction volumes in Southeast Asia.
Under Jamie’s leadership, Bitget enabled stablecoin payments through national and blockchain QR systems, such as VietQR in Vietnam and Solana Pay. It also partnered with AEON, Paydify to expand merchant acceptance.
“Whether you’re in Vietnam, Philippines, Brazil, wherever you are in the world that accepts QR payment, you can now scan a QR code and pay directly using stablecoins, with your Bitget wallet,” said Jamie.
He said that the best thing about the QR payment system is the fees within it. For instance, Brazil uses a system called Pix QR, a government initiative where users pay from, traditionally, their bank account. “Now, being able to pay directly with your Bitget wallet, you get a more competitive fee,” he noted.
Stablecoins are “Clearly the Future” – Bitget CMO
Bitget supports every single stablecoin when it comes to the QR payment feature, said Jamie. Just like Apple Pay or Google Pay, stablecoin payments are just a QR scan away, he added.
Bitget, with over 60 million wallet users, partnered with payments giant Mastercard in July to launch a new crypto-linked card that allows users to make payments directly from their digital wallets at over 150 million merchants.
“Right now, physical cards are coming in the near future,” Jamie noted, adding that it would allow users to instantly settle their transactions, buy coffee, and groceries, using their MasterCard.
“Stablecoins are the future. We strongly believe that. I’ve even got a case. I bought my car using stablecoins in Dubai. The opportunities are endless, and they’re clearly the future.”
Cross-Chain Stablecoins Are Real – Can They Reshape Global Financial System?
Navigating stablecoins from chain to chain has traditionally involved “lots of barriers,” said Jamie.
“You may have USDC on Base, and you want to move it across to USDC on BNB chain, for example, or any other. Now we’ve simplified that.”
Further, he said that the gas fee is very minimal, if any at all, depending on the transaction in place.
Bitget to Partner With ‘Biggest Names’ in Traditional Finance in Asia
Jamie hinted that Bitget will come up with a “huge announcement” around some of its pay products in Asia. Besides, the launch will arrive in partnership with one of the “biggest names in the traditional finance industry.” However, he declined to name the company that Bitget would partner with.
“You can expect that in the next six to eight weeks. I cannot wait. I am super excited,” he said.
He stressed that Bitget will make crypto accessible to everyone, even the underbanked. Further, the platform lets users earn on their stablecoins.
“When we talk about earning, right now in our application, users can earn a 10% instant yield. You can watch your money grow second by second.”
Bitget in Talks with Indian Regulators
The crypto exchange recently had talks with the Indian Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) on regulations. “Some exciting announcements coming up with that in the near future,” touts Jamie.
Additionally, he talked about how Bitget is focusing on the ‘underbanked’ population. “They’ve not got options, they’ve not got the opportunity to access things like credit solutions, real-world assets, stocks and shares.”
When asked about the exchange’s upcoming product or feature launches, Jamie said that the company is constantly looking out for solutions that would interest users, rather than launching “shiny products.”
