Encrypted email service provider Tutanota has recently started testing cryptocurrency payments options, starting with bitcoin, bitcoin cash, ether, and monero. The service, according to its website, gives users an extra layer of privacy thanks to built-in encryption.
Through an announcement on its website, Tutanota revealed that it wants to support cryptocurrency-powered decentralized payment methods that work “independent of centralized payment processors such as banks or credit card institutions.”
While it plans on adding cryptocurrency payments, for now it’s just testing potential payment processing solutions. The post reads:
We will now test payment processing and how easily we can automate the processing of crypto payments. Then we will add an option to also pay for Tutanota with cryptocurrencies.
The German firm revealed that it started accepting the four cryptos mentioned above after adding them to a Twitter poll that was interestingly inconclusive. In it, every currency received between 16% and 27% of votes. Some users also added comments asking for LTC and XVG.
We plan to add cryptocurrency support to Tutanota in 2018 – check here for details: https://t.co/7lIAFLKE7v
Please vote which currencies you would like us to support:— Tutanota (@TutanotaTeam) February 25, 2018
Tutanota added that if users want to see it accept different cryptocurrencies, they can do so by donating to it with the currency they want to be added.
Crypto Acceptance Delayed
Notably, the encrypted email service firm revealed it planned on adding cryptocurrency payment options last year, before most cryptocurrencies hit their all-time highs in December. It had, however, to first rebuild its encrypted email service “from scratch to improve performance, design, and for being able to add new features at a faster pace.”
During that time, Tutanota added, it realized that cryptocurrency enthusiasts don’t just want to pay with bitcoin, but with other cryptocurrencies as well. For now, the donations it receives in tests will be used to “gain experiences in how to handle payments with cryptocoins.”
It’s worth pointing out this isn’t the first privacy-oriented email service provider to accept cryptocurrency payments. ProtonMail reportedly started accepting the flagship cryptocurrency nearly a year ago.
The company lets users top up their accounts with “ProtonMail Credits,” a specific currency they can use to pay for premium subscriptions and additional features. Initially the service didn’t use a payment provider, meaning it manually processed every transaction.
Tutanota’s move comes at a time in which various analysts believe bitcoin and the cryptocurrency market are set to see huge gains, as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may be about to accept a Bitcoin ETF application from Cboe Global Markets, after proponents flooded its inbox.
