Have you ever thought about the possibility of transferring cryptocurrencies by WhatsApp? Yes, the Zulu Republic, a Switzerland-based crypto startup, announced in May that the services of its wallet, the Lite.IM, are already enabled for the app. It allows users to download BTC, ETH and LTC to any users’ contact. For this, it uses a robot as an intermediary.
The service can be accessed from a link, which is provided by the Lite.IM site or at the time the app starts. You must enter the country code area and the phone number. Next, the application redirects to a chat, where they can be reached with a bot that processes the cryptocurrencies operations and it is activated with the word “HOLD”.
In this way, the wallet is generated from the telephone number and an alphanumeric key, producing a private key or phrase that can be exported by users. Thus, the next step is to deposit a sum of BTC, ETH or LTC at the wallet public address or QR code to be able to use it.
Once there is enough balance, it is possible to send the cryptocurrencies to any of the user’s contacts, using only the phone numbers or the wallet´s address. In addition to WhatsApp, the Lite.IM also provides services onTelegram, Facebook Messenger and even text messaging platforms. The application was released in August 2018. Since then, it has stood out as one of the first integrated wallets messaging applications.
The Lite.IM differs from others because it has friendly options for users who don’t know much about cryptocurrencies. The application allows the sending of remittances in crypto to any user, without the need of the blockchain. Moreover, it is a platform for easy access, since it is integrated to the most popular messaging applications on the market.
Transferring cryptocurrencies by WhatsApp almost worldwide
The wallet Lite.IM works in most countries of the world. The United States and North Korea, two of the most regulated in the industry, are enabled on the platform. The Iranian territory is one of the few which is not contemplated. This is possibly due to trade restrictions recently imposed by the international community.
As for the Latin American territory, the citizen of Bolivia and Ecuador are the only ones that cannot use the system, because of their Government policies. However, users of countries like Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Argentina, Cuba, Colombia and Mexico, for example, can make crypto transactions on WhatsApp.
Other additional detail of Lite.IM to countries with Spanish as their native language, is that the wallet can be configured so that all of its options are also in Spanish.
A point against this wallet is its privacy. According to the privacy policies of the Zulu Republic, the company stores all personal information entered in the wallet. Among them, it is also included e-mails, phone numbers and cookies. This feature can be disadvantageous to the users who believe that privacy is one of the weaknesses of the cryptocurrencies .
The wallets integrated into messaging applications or social networks are becoming increasingly popular. The Lite.IM is not the only blockchain which launched its WhatsApp services. The first specialized project on this platform was developed by the Spanish startup Wuabit, last year. There is also the DropBit wallet, for phones with the iOS operating system. The platform allows sending text messages. Similarly, the SendCrypto and the Tippin.me can also be integrated in networks such as Twitter and Reddit to send tips.
