WeWork Moves to Accept Crypto Payments

The development comes shortly after Tesla began accepting bitcoin payments, and when global household names like Visa, MasterCard, PayPal and Venmo seek to bring digital assets onto their networks for consumer payments.

article-image

WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani; Source: WeWork

share

key takeaways

  • WeWork said it will hold some portion of digital assets on its balance sheet
  • Coinbase will be the first WeWork member to pay for its membership in cryptocurrency

WeWork, the global office-sharing startup backed by SoftBank will begin accepting payments in cryptocurrency. The company, which has locations in 118 cities, will also use it to pay some landlords and vendors, according to a company press release Tuesday.

Through partnerships with Coinbase and BitPay, WeWork will initially accept bitcoin, ether, USD Coin, the Paxos token and “several other” unnamed digital assets, and hold some portion of them on its balance sheet, according to the release

Coinbase, which went public last week, will be the first WeWork member to pay for its membership in cryptocurrency.

“When we think about the workplace of the future and business, we have to consider cryptocurrency a central part of that conversation,” WeWork Chairman and Softbank Group International CEO, Marcelo Claure, said in the release. “Cryptocurrency helps build a stronger global economy and WeWork’s announcement demonstrates the company’s commitment not only to innovation, but also to being a globally-focused business.”

The development comes shortly after Tesla began accepting bitcoin payments, about a month ago, and said it also plans to hold it on its balance sheet (rather than immediately converting it into fiat currency). It also comes at a time when global household names in payments including Visa, MasterCard and PayPal — as well as Venmo, as of today — seek to bring digital assets onto their networks for consumer payments.

“It’s not likely that bitcoin will be the payment mechanism of the future for most goods and services, as the investment thesis of bitcoin as a store of value or digital gold has driven the vast majority of institutional interest, rather than payments,” said John Wu, president of the DeFi company Ava Labs. “That said, for luxury or one-time, high-value purchases like cars or real estate, we’re clearly seeing more interest in accepting BTC given the potential upside of the asset.”

Shortly before the pandemic WeWork was forced to pull the plug on its planned initial public offering due to former CEO Adam Nuemann’s mismanagement. It lost $3.2 billion last year as offices around the world shut down. Earlier this month, the company announced that its IPO plans are back on, this time through a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). 

Casey Wagner contributed to the reporting on this story.

Tags

Upcoming Events

WED - FRI, OCTOBER 9 - 11, 2024

Pack your bags, anon — we’re heading west! Join us in the beautiful Salt Lake City for the third installment of Permissionless. Come for the alpha, stay for the fresh air. Permissionless III promises unforgettable panels, killer networking opportunities, and mountains […]

MON - WED, MARCH 18 - 20, 2024

Crypto’s premier institutional conference returns to London in March 2024. The DAS: London Experience:  Attend expert-led panel discussions and fireside chats  Hear the latest developments regarding the crypto and digital asset regulatory environment directly from policymakers and experts   Grow your network […]

recent research

Pyth Cover.jpg

Research

Pyth is a low latency pull-based oracle. In a future that looks increasingly high frequency, with various alt L1s and L2s that have significantly shorter block times than Ethereum, and an explosion of “high-frequency” protocols such as oracle or CLOB perp DEXs, Pyth’s low latency oracle product looks much better positioned to capture a significant amount of market share in comparison to competitors.

article-image

An exploiter tried to drain funds from Indexed Finance DAO but was caught after refusing to share the funds with a blackmailer

article-image

The DOJ made the plea agreements of Binance and Changpeng Zhao public on Tuesday

article-image

Binance settlement “an important part of clearing the way for the next bull market cycle,” crypto hedge fund executive says

article-image

Hester Peirce reiterated Tuesday that court cases are not the only path to regulatory clarity for crypto, but her colleagues do not always agree

article-image

The indictment followed leaks Monday that a Binance settlement deal was forthcoming

article-image

The Binance executive is also reportedly set to make an appearance in a Seattle courtroom Tuesday