Giant payment company Worldpay plans to verify blockchain transactions for the very first time in order to better understand how funds move through digital ledgers.
According to a Bloomberg report on Sept. 26, the international payment provider is already in talks with several blockchains in hopes of becoming a validator, network participants that monitor and verify transactions in digital ledgers.
“The idea is to be part of the ecosystem right at the base,” said Sanchit Mall, Worldpay‘s web3 and crypto lead in the Asia-Pacific region. He explained that Worldpay intends to directly participate in blockchains so that they can better understand the flow of money in digital ledgers.
In 2024, Worldpay has processed stablecoin transactions amounting to $1.3 billion in value. The total transaction value increased from less than $1 billion in 2023, but it is still only a small portion compared to the larger sum of $2.3 trillion in transactions that Worldpay facilitates annually.
Validators are responsible for maintaining the integrity of digital ledgers. In order to do so, they have to isolate a chunk of the blockchain’s native cryptocurrency, an act known as staking. In return, they receive fees for monitoring and verifying transactions.
Some notable crypto validators include Coinbase, Metamask, Helius, and Galaxy Digital. Worldpay will be joining this line-up for the first time in the company’s history.
According to data from Solana Beach, Helius is currently the number one validator for Solana (SOL) with 12.8 million SOL tokens staked, followed by Galaxy and Coinbase with 12.7 million SOL tokens and 11 million SOL tokens respectively.
Although, Worldpay has partnered with other firms on crypto-related initiatives before. On March 7, 2024, Wordlpay partnered with web3 payment provider Wert to give access to JCB, Amex, and Discover cardholders and increase on-ramp adoption into web3.
Worldpay was also one of the trial partners along with Checkout.com for cryptocurrency custody provider Fireblocks’ payment engine back in Oct. 2022.