The cryptocurrency wallet and exchange Abra has launched support for customers with Single Euro Payment Area (SEPA) bank accounts. With the move, those citizens of the 28 states of the European Union (EU), along with those in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and in Monaco, Andorra and San Marino, can purchase cryptocurrencies directly through a bank transfer. In addition to grabbing hold of a larger consumer segment, Abra announced that it will soon give users the ability to fund their wallets with Bitcoin BCH.
The bank transfers will take place under SEPA guidelines, which allow customers in the member countries to make deposits with either their national fiat or Euros.
In a press release, Abra founder and CEO Bill Barhydt said, “With users from over 70 countries globally, and a greater demand for the ability to invest in cryptocurrencies from any bank account, it is really important to give investors the opportunity to fund their Abra wallet directly from any bank account. This new feature is helping to change the way people invest, adding to a brighter future for the cryptocurrency market around the world.”
The Bitcoin BCH support is anticipated to begin “over the next several days.” Abra added that users “will also have the ability to fund their Abra wallet using Bitcoin Cash (BCH). This would come in addition to the newly launched SEPA bank transfers and cryptocurrency deposit options already available in the app today.”
Abra now supports 28 cryptocurrencies and 50 fiat currencies following the launch of support for the Basic Attention Token (BAT), Cardano (ADA) and Tron (TRX). Customers are also able to purchase crypto with either an American Express, Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card. In July, the company announced that it would start supporting the card-based transactions, allowing customers to make purchases between $50 and $20,000.
The Abra wallet is a non-custodial wallet—cryptocurrencies and private keys are held only by the users. It is strictly peer-to-peer and doesn’t use an intermediary to hold, manage or access the funds at any time during the transactions.
Note: Tokens on the Bitcoin Core (segwit) Chain are Referred to as BTC coins. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is today the only Bitcoin implementation that follows Satoshi Nakamoto’s original whitepaper for Peer to Peer Electronic Cash. Bitcoin BCH is the only major public blockchain that maintains the original vision for Bitcoin as fast, frictionless, electronic cash.
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