WeMakePrice (WMP), a leading South Korean online retailer will accept cryptocurrency payments within the first quarter of this year, after entering a deal with the country’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, The Korea Times reports.
“WMP has partnered with Bithumb to become the highest-profile company accepting cryptocurrency payments,” said Lee Hanul, a spokesman for WMP.
Twelve cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (EXANTE: Bitcoin), Ethereum (ETH/USD) and Ripple, are expected to be available for shopping using WeMakePrice’s online payment service called Wonder Pay.
“This is a real trend that everybody is talking about. The partnership calls for Bithumb to be in sync with WMP’s mobile payment system Wonder Pay, under which the price that the customer should pay will be decided in accordance with the present value of a certain digital coin used for payment,” Lee said.
The service will kick off as soon as the Korean government settles regulations and policies on virtual currency exchanges, such as minimum operating requirements, ethics regulation and consumer protection, the company said, adding that a launch date has not been decided.
Once it goes live WeMakePrice will be one of the largest retailers in Korea to accept cryptocurrency. Prominent overseas retailers such as Overstock and Newegg have accepted Bitcoin for years, while big names such as eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), Amazon and Alibaba (FWB: AHLA) have formally adopted cryptocurrency payments.