Shopping.io Starts Supporting Fantom (FTM) Crypto as Payment for Online Purchases

Fantom Foundation, one of the fastest growing layer-1 blockchain systems, announced today the integration of its native FTM token with crypto e-commerce platform Shopping.io, enabling online customers to make purchases from major shops using Fantom’s native FTM token. FTM users may now use their tokens to make purchases on Shopping.io from a variety of major stores, including Amazon, Home Depot, eBay, and Walmart.

Fantom is a layer-1 EVM-compatible platform that is fast, scalable, and secure, based on the permissionless aBFT consensus algorithm. Transactions on Fantom are verified in less than a second and cost an average of one cent. Fantom’s high throughput, low transaction costs, and rapid speed make it perfect for DeFi applications and real-world use-cases.

Economic inflation, non-fungible token growth, and metaverse fascination have all fueled cryptocurrency interest over the last year, with the total number of cryptocurrency holders already exceeding 300 million. Along with the surge in bitcoin awareness, the idea of cryptocurrency-based retail buying has surfaced. According to a recent Cantaloupe poll, 67% of cryptocurrency owners would consider utilizing it to make purchases. This level of enthusiasm motivated Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky to make accepting crypto payments his top priority for 2022, adding on the company’s existing service for purchasing Airbnb gift cards with cryptocurrency.

Now, 46 million cryptocurrency owners want to make purchases with their digital assets, while another 42 million non-owners are contemplating purchasing cryptocurrencies in the future. Despite the excitement, more than half of cryptocurrency owners feel there are not enough retailers accepting crypto, according to PYMNTS. Fantom believes that by integrating with Shopping.io, it would make it easier for FTM holders to transact with prominent online stores.

“At its foundation, Fantom seeks to strengthen decentralized finance as a whole, as well as the broader cryptocurrency economy,” Fantom CEO Michael Kong said. “Tangible usefulness, such as internet commerce, is a significant step in that direction. We’re delighted to partner with Shopping.io to provide straightforward, user-friendly buying possibilities to our customers.”

As a result of the integration, FTM holders will be able to use their digital assets to buy ordinary products. The move is part of a coordinated effort to increase mainstream cryptocurrency usage.
Shopping.io is now the only worldwide crypto gateway that enables users to spend cryptocurrency on e-commerce websites.

“Fantom is one of the most recognized and interesting platforms in the field, and we couldn’t be happier to provide this connection,” remarked Arbel Arif, Founder and CEO of Shopping.io. “With their considerable community support, we are certain that this is a tremendous step forward in terms of crypto acceptance and development.”

Shopping.io’s connection follows Fantom’s recent integration with open-source oracle provider DIA to give data feeds to DeFi developers inside the Fantom ecosystem. The integration aims to facilitate the growth of a number of use cases, including stablecoins, staking incentives, lending and borrowing, and decentralized exchanges (DEXs).