Coinbase Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal has called on lawmakers to support cryptocurrency use for remittance payments. In a recent statement on X, Grewal highlighted that crypto can help reduce high costs and slow transaction speeds in traditional cross-border payments.
Grewal pointed out that one in eight Americans sent money abroad to family members last year. Grewal stressed that current remittance methods often come with significant drawbacks, including high fees and long wait times.
Traditional remittance services can charge up to $6 for every $100 sent, according to Coinbase. These fees are often due to multiple intermediaries involved in the transfer process. Additionally, conventional cross-border payments can take several days to complete.
According to Grewal, Blockchain technology facilitates faster and more direct transfers with no need for some of the established financial organizations to cut costs and shorten the time it takes to complete online money transfers across borders.
The rising acceptance of cryptocurrencies has demanded the adoption of friendly policies in cross-border money transfer services. Currently, there is a growing call by many users and relevant industries to have better guidelines to govern cryptocurrency in the United States due to the increasingly emerging applications for the technology.
The World Bank estimated that global remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries reached $540 billion in 2020, despite the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. With cryptocurrency adopting currency status, advocacy for facilitating global payment is gaining traction from hectors within the private domain and policymakers.
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