BitPay, the pioneering crypto payment services provider based in Atlanta, Georgia, has taken another major step in its partnership with global video game trading company Xsolla, by integrating the XRP token. Today, October 17, BitPay announced via X (formerly Twitter): “Xsolla now accepts XRP with BitPay as a payment method for their games, such as SMITE and Roblox. You can use your favorite cryptocurrency to buy, play and enjoy gaming like never before.”
Why this announcement is important
This announcement not only confirms the growing relevance of XRP in the gaming world, but also marks an important moment in the long-standing partnership between Xsolla and BitPay. This relationship first started in 2014 when Xsolla decided to process Bitcoin (BTC) payments for gamers worldwide via BitPay. They have since expanded their crypto payment offerings, with the recent addition of PayPal USD (PYUSD) last month.
Founded in 2005 by Aleksandr Agapitov, Xsolla has positioned itself as an instrumental force in the gaming industry, providing essential tools that allow game developers to launch, monetize, and distribute their creations on a global scale. With Xsolla focused on helping its partners break geographic barriers and strengthen revenue streams, the company continually seeks innovative solutions to global game distribution challenges.
Roblox, the popular online gaming platform to boast more than 65.5 million daily active users and more than 202 million monthly active users, stands out as a major beneficiary of the XRP integration. Operated by Xsolla for in-game payments, Roblox now allows its massive user base to use XRP for transactions, with BitPay ensuring a smooth connection to crypto wallets. Considering that Roblox users spent With an astonishing $780.7 million in in-game purchases in the second quarter of 2023, the potential volume of XRP transactions on the platform could be enormous.
Notably, BitPay’s association with XRP dates back to 2019, when they partnered with Ripple’s investment arm, Xpring. However, the relationship hit a snag when BitPay, in partnership with many US-based crypto companies, halted XRP-related transactions following the SEC’s lawsuit against Ripple Labs. The tide turned in XRP’s favor when Judge Torres identified it as a non-security, prompting BitPay to reintroduce the cryptocurrency to its platform in August.
XRP price is facing stiff resistance
The recent announcement undoubtedly solidifies XRP’s position in the broader market and demonstrates its versatility. Despite the promising long-term prospects emerging from XRP’s new use case, the price is currently facing multiple key resistance levels.
After a brief surge yesterday attributed to the fake news surrounding a potential Bitcoin ETF, the price of XRP took a pullback and fell below $0.50.
On the 4-hour chart, the price slid below the Fibonacci retracement level of 0.618, pegged at $0.4908. Still, it showed resilience, recovered and provided a close above the 20-EMA. In the more immediate time frame, the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement level, set at $0.5048, is now emerging as the crucial resistance. A sustained close above this threshold on the 4-hour chart could be the catalyst for renewed bullish strength.
Should this momentum be achieved, the next point of interest for the XRP price would be the September high of $0.55. Notably, this price benchmark is not only crucial for short-term analysis, but is also important on larger scales, such as the 1-day chart, as previously reported.
Featured image of Umzmancoin, chart from TradingView.com