San Francisco-based bitcoin services provider Coinbase has launched a new feature called Payment Pages that enables users to have a social, sharable payment profile.
The company is promoting the effort with the help of notable names and charitable efforts.
Nas, Marc Andreessen and Code.org are just some of the luminaries that have created Payment Pages for the official launch. The proceeds of bitcoin transactions to these accounts will go to charity.
In a post on the official Coinbase blog, the company states:
Making bitcoin basic
Getting on users on board with bitcoin via cryptographic addresses like "1H3Nr8N68EaFiMggFpX2QpUp4edtZmUgui" is difficult. This is likely a major reason Coinbase is launching Payment Pages.
The Payment Pages feature combines the ease of digital currencies with a social profile that seems to be factoring for the modern Internet Twitter and Facebook have created.
Payment Pages creates an easy-to-use URL for people. For example, the page for rapper Nas (where bitcoin donations go to Watsi.org) is https://coinbase.com/Nas:
After clicking on "Send Money", users are given the option to either directly send from their Coinbase wallet or use an external BTC wallet.
For the launch, Marc Andreessen's Coinbase page is donating to the social fund AV2.org. Code.org is also part of the initial Pages push, funding non-profit computer science projects.
Coinbase has committed to matching any charitable donations to these accounts, up to $50,000
Digital currency meets social media
The popularity of bitcoin has to-date primarily revolved around its price. But, the unexpected rise of dogecoin has provided evidence that the better path to cryptocurrency adoption may be social media.
Coinbase's Payment Pages, for instance, are easily shareable on places like Twitter:
I just donated Bitcoin to @watsi via @Nas! http://t.co/INZUqC0MbT— Fred Ehrsam (@FEhrsam) May 28, 2014
QuickCoin is another example of how the bitcoin industry is looking to leverage sharing to increase bitcoin adoption. The QuickCoin wallet integrates with Facebook for BTC transactions through the gargantuan social network.
Coinbase is obviously paying attention to the viral effects social media could have on BTC. Coupled with its giveaway of digital currency to college students and concert-goers, the company is increasing its efforts to spread the word about bitcoin, especially to a younger audience.
Coinbase users can set up their Payments Page name and URL by going to https://coinbase.com/settings.
Image via Coinbase