Eco’s Beam Wallet Enables Online Shopping with Stablecoins

Eco Inc., a crypto payments company backed by prominent venture capital firms, has announced its acquisition of Join, a Web3 shopping app that allows users to buy products from major online platforms like Amazon and Shopify using stablecoins. This acquisition will pave the way for the integration of Eco’s self-custody wallet Beam and Join, creating a seamless and user-friendly crypto payment experience.

Beam Wallet: A Noncustodial Wallet for P2P Payments and Shopping

Beam Wallet is a noncustodial wallet that operates on the Optimism and Base networks, two layer-2 solutions that aim to improve scalability and reduce gas fees on Ethereum. Beam Wallet supports stablecoins for both payments and gas fees, eliminating the volatility and complexity of native coins. Users can sign up for Beam Wallet using their Twitter login, without having to manage seed words or private keys.

Beam Wallet allows users to make peer-to-peer global payments and has amassed approximately 80,000 users since its launch last year. It also offers a rewards program that gives users cashback for using the wallet. Beam Wallet’s vision is to make ledger technology more accessible and user-friendly, without compromising on decentralization or security.

Join: A Web3 Shopping App for Stablecoin Purchases

Join is a Web3 shopping app that enables users to purchase products from Amazon and Shopify using stablecoins. Users can paste a product link, enter their shipping details, and pay with stablecoins directly from the app. Join also offers discounts and cashback for using the app. Join was founded by Tom Dean, Jawad Ayoub, and Brad Crook, and was initially backed by investor Balaji Srinivasan and a grant from Base.

Join’s mission is to enable frictionless spending of stablecoins, and to bring Web3 stablecoin payments into the mainstream.

Eco Acquires Join and Integrates Beam and Join

Eco announced its acquisition of Join on January 25, 2024, and said that it will integrate Beam and Join, allowing users to make Amazon and Shopify purchases directly from the Beam wallet. Eco plans to roll out the new integrated feature in February and set a waitlist for interested users. Eco declined to disclose what it paid for Join.

Eco’s acquisition of Join and its integration with Beam are driven by the vision of making ledger technology more accessible and user-friendly, without compromising on decentralization or security.

Eco is an a16z-backed startup that has raised $95 million in funding from investors such as Coinbase Ventures, Founders Fund, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Pantera Capital. Eco aims to create a simple and elegant platform for crypto payments, savings, and rewards.