Blockchain company Stratis announced this week it has developed a wallet that supports cryptocurrency payments for corporates.
In a recent press release, Stratis said it launched the Stratis Breeze Wallet, with its integrated Breeze Privacy Protocol to enhance the privacy of transactions made with bitcoin. The solution was designed for corporates that are looking to conduct business on the blockchain without transactions being made public, the company explained. Stratis pointed to supplier payments as a possible “commercially sensitive” type of transaction that requires enhanced privacy.
Businesses using the wallet can link to a Stratis Masternode to process transactions, which can be made in Stratis’ proprietary cryptocurrency as well as bitcoin.
“The original vision of bitcoin is a secure, peer-to-peer [(P2P)] digital currency that allows people to transact directly, without third parties,” said Stratis Platform CEO Chris Trew in a statement. “It’s achieved this vision, but what early supporters didn’t always realize is how public those transactions are.”
Trew added that the wallet was “specifically designed with B2B payments in mind,” and addresses the issue of privacy for cryptocurrency payments.
“It’s important to consider this release only brings bitcoin up to a level of decentralized privacy [that] organizations already enjoy today from centralized private banking arrangements,” he said.
The wallet solution remains in beta testing, the company added.
Despite a surge in popularity for bitcoin in recent years, it is unclear whether cryptocurrencies will gain traction in the B2B payments space. Some startups are exploring use of bitcoin in the corporate transaction space, including BitPay, which raised $40 million earlier this year for its solution that facilitates cross-border B2B payments using bitcoin.
Other companies are exploring cryptocurrencies for different categories of corporate payments: Earlier this year, Uphold spoke with PYMNTS about the potential for cryptocurrency in payroll.