(Reuters) - SoftBank-backed office-sharing startup WeWork said on Tuesday it would begin accepting payments in select cryptocurrencies and partner with Coinbase Global Inc and payment app Bitpay to facilitate transactions.
WeWork joins a clutch of high-profile firms that have dived into the digital currency space recently, including Tesla Inc, Visa Inc (NYSE:V), Bank of NY Mellon (NYSE:BK), prompting the move away from the fringes of finance for crytocurrencies like bitcoin.
Visa Inc said last month it would allow payment settlements using cryptocurrency while PayPal Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PYPL) launched a crypto checkout service on March 30. Bitcoin, the biggest crytocurrency, reached a record high last week, ahead of the trading debut of U.S. crytocurrency exchange Coinbase, but its rally has since cooled off.
The multi-fold rise in the value of cryptocurrencies has also been driven by investors seeking high-yielding assets amid low interest rates.
Earlier in the day, PayPal-owned peer-to-peer payment service Venmo said it had started allowing users to buy, hold and sell cryptocurrencies on its app.
WeWork agreed to go public late last month through a merger with a blank-check firm in a deal that values the start-up at $9 billion. SoftBank Group Corp said it would retain a majority stake in the company after the merger.