Scalable blockchain network Elrond has achieved a major milestone in its goal to make crypto assets accessible to a global audience. Following an integration with crypto-fiat gateway MoonPay, native Elrond assets, starting with ERD, will be available to purchase in more than 160 countries. This means that crypto users, including newcomers seeking to enter the cryptoconomy, can purchase ERD with credit and debit card.
News of the MoonPay partnership arrives at a propitious time for Elrond, whose mainnet is due to launch in a fortnight. With interest in the high throughput blockchain at an all-time high, the fiat pipeline is sure to be well received by Elrond’s rapidly growing community.
“Convenience is the key that will lead to unprecedented growth for the Elrond ecosystem,” said Elrond CEO Beniamin Mincu, announcing the MoonPay integration. “Direct access to 100+ fiat on ramps, defi, and staking products on the Elrond network will soon be possible for first-time users from their phones. This changes everything.”
100 Payment Partners Extend Elrond’s Reach
Elrond’s quest for global domination will be helped by MoonPay’s vast network of payment partners. More than 100 companies have integrated MoonPay’s gateway, making ERD accessible to a distributed and diverse audience, many of whom will be new to crypto. As a result, Elrond network users and traders will be able to buy ERD using Visa, Mastercard, bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
In teaming up with MoonPay, Elrond has secured the support of one of the industry’s leading payment gateways. MoonPay’s API has been designed to facilitate easy integration into websites, apps, crypto wallets, and exchanges. This makes it easy for crypto companies to offer fiat support, and for traditional tech companies to add a crypto pipeline. In the past 12 months, the fiat and crypto worlds have been brought closer together through the construction of bridges that facilitate seamless swaps. Exchanges, custody providers, and wallets have all added crypto-fiat capability, enabling users to purchase digital assets quickly and at competitive rates.
Elrond’s Month Is Just Getting Started
Elrond’s mainnet is set to launch at the end of July, prompting a series of initiatives designed to iron out any kinks before going live. This has culminated in a wildly successful incentivized testnet program. 1,700 validator nodes and more than 1,800 network peers participated in the scheme, and claimed a share of the $60,000 in ERD rewards that were up for grabs. In addition, Elrond has revealed an integration with Travala, making ERD and its native version of the BUSD stablecoin available for travel bookings.
ERD is up almost 800% for the year to date, demonstrating the appeal of new crypto networks that can take the strain off Ethereum, whose network fees recently surpassed those of Bitcoin. Elrond’s value proposition is built around speed and efficiency. The network promises speed improvements of up to 1,000x on existing blockchains thanks to an Adaptive State Sharding mechanism that enables data to be split into parts and processed in parallel.
