Coinbase Eases Bitcoin Purchase With ‘Buy Widget’
Coinbase continues to reinvent itself with its latest move. Last year, Brian Armstrong said that the popular wallet service was moving toward becoming more of a cryptocurrency exchange than a wallet.
Recent moves like rebranding itself into the Global Digital Asset Exchange and accepting Ether are indications of the company’s new focus. Although these recent events may seem that Coinbase wants to go beyond Bitcoin, it has not forgotten its roots. This can be seen in the recent unveiling of its newest feature: Coinbase Buy Widget.
The main purpose of this widget is to allow 3rd party developers to enable their customers to buy bitcoins in a direct manner. Either installed on a site or directly in an app, customers can use this widget to buy bitcoins and directly send them to the app provider or site owner, without the need to leave the site or for a separate app. This makes it convenient for Bitcoin-accepting merchants or services to get paid in a quick and easy manner.
Basic functions
The Buy widget delivers three features that will make any developer sit up and pay attention. First, it allows people using it to purchase bitcoins with debit cards. Second, it is a direct payment, delivering the purchased bitcoins to a specified target address. Finally, it is user-friendly. All a user needs to do is follow three simple steps and he would have made his purchase.
This simple usage is not limited to the user. Developers will not have to tinker around with their codes for hours to get it working. All it needs is to install pre-set lines of code and the widget is ready to go. Even simpler is to use a direct link, which opens up a separate window for users to place their input.
There are currently a few limits right now, though. First, it is currently limited to customers in the US using debit cards. There is also a daily $5 limit if the user does not have a Coinbase account with a lifetime limit of $50 before they are asked to get a full Coinbase account. These, however, are only temporary and will be adjusted in the future.
Early adoption
There are already three partners that have the widget already installed. First, there is the Brave browser. Users can utilize the widget to directly pay websites so that they can avoid seeing ads. This ensures that browsing is a smooth experience and good content is rewarded.
Second, Hammercoin has it installed. The company runs BitQuest, a Minecraft server that uses Bitcoin for its monetary system. With easy Bitcoin payments, players will find the experience better. Finally, Popchest allows people to fund video producers with micropayments. With the widget, people can fund their favorite videos without getting into the intricacies of Bitcoin.
The Coinbase Buy widget makes it easier for Bitcoin purchases to be integrated into the digital marketplace. This is a definite plus for the cryptocurrency economy since it makes Bitcoin usage much simpler and easier.
