payments-week-22

(Marc-Olivier Jodoin/Unsplash)
Fast, Fluid, Frictionless Payments Are the Future
But what does it take for a technology to really break through? This article is part of CoinDesk's Payments Week.
(Marc-Olivier Jodoin/Unsplash)

(Yunha Lee/CoinDesk)
The Lightning Network Is Bringing Payments Back to Bitcoin
The Lightning Network, which enables small and instant bitcoin payments, is getting bigger and more useful. Here's a state of play. This piece is part of CoinDesk's Payments W...
(Yunha Lee/CoinDesk)

(Benjamin Child/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)
Why Haven't Crypto Payments Taken Off?
Examining everything from bitcoin's life cycle to the instability of stablecoins.
(Benjamin Child/Unsplash, modified by CoinDesk)

(Kevin Ross/CoinDesk)
Introducing CoinDesk's Payments Week
Can crypto fulfill its original promise? From Bitcoin’s Lightning Network to stablecoins to gaming and rewards, innovations give hope for the payments use case.
(Kevin Ross/CoinDesk)

(Michael Parulava/Unsplash)
How to Send Money to the Wrong Side of the War
A Russian emigre is teaching friends and family how to use crypto amid economic sanction. This piece is part of CoinDesk's Payments week.
(Michael Parulava/Unsplash)

Illustration by Melody Wang
Crypto Becomes Lifeline for Russian Emigrés Opposing Putin’s War in Ukraine
Financial censorship has gone from an abstract idea to a harsh reality for Russians who suddenly found themselves unbanked by the West and their own government. This piece is...
Illustration by Melody Wang

TradFi version of ledgers (Chris Pastrick/Pixabay)
Crypto Payments: When the Tech Fades to the Background
The evolution in interest among TradFi, which was once dominated by diehard crypto skeptics, from crypto curiosity to crypto commitment is perhaps the industry’s most importan...
TradFi version of ledgers (Chris Pastrick/Pixabay)

(Jon Tyson/Unsplash)
Drugs, Drugs and More Drugs: Crypto on the Dark Web
Down the Silk Road: Where crypto has always been used for payments.
(Jon Tyson/Unsplash)

“We would usually advise our clients to steer clear of a lot of these things," says one consultant. "Whether it's financial, reputational or regulatory [risk], who needs this headache?” (Illustration: Yunha Lee/CoinDesk)
Why Banks and Payment Processors Shun Perfectly Legal Businesses
Porn, gambling and even furniture sales are deemed “high-risk” merchant categories. Sometimes the risk is financial; other times it’s just bad publicity.
“We would usually advise our clients to steer clear of a lot of these things," says one consultant. "Whether it's financial, reputational or regulatory [risk], who needs this headache?” (Illustration: Yunha Lee/CoinDesk)

Jose Fernandez da Ponte - PayPal’s senior vice president of blockchain, crypto and digital currencies.
PayPal’s Blockchain Chief on the Future of Crypto in Payments
Blockchains offer unique advantages, but these must be combined with a user experience that feels similar to the one consumers know today, writes Senior Vice President Jose Fe...
Jose Fernandez da Ponte - PayPal’s senior vice president of blockchain, crypto and digital currencies.