Cointext has announced that its bitcoin cash wallet service has just launched in the Ukraine and Italy. Cointext is now connected to 35 countries worldwide and the wallet works on any smartphone as well as basic feature phones.
Cointext.io is a cryptocurrency wallet that provides users with the means to send bitcoin cash (BCH) through SMS technology (text messages). The wallet gives any text-enabled mobile phone the ability to send and receive BCH without an internet connection. The company has been adding supported countries to its list over the past few months, and on Monday Cointext added service to the Ukraine and Italy. The two new regions bring the total number of countries that are Cointext connected to 35.
Because the application doesn’t require registration and all it takes to use the app is a valid text command, anyone from the supported 35 territories can send bitcoin cash via SMS. After the Ukrainian and Italian services were activated, Cointext founder and CTO Vin Armani shared some notable pictures of people in Ukraine sending BCH through text on basic feature (Nokia-style) phones.
“Cointext allows anyone with a cellular signal to access cryptocurrency — This includes all brands of smartphones and about two billion people with basic feature phones,” Armani explained.
The Cointext founder continued:
Ukraine is experiencing political instability and Italy is facing a sovereign debt crisis. Cryptocurrency provides residents with a way to opt out, and Cointext provides them with the easiest tool to begin using cryptocurrency.
1.7 Billion Unbanked and 2 Billion Basic Feature Phones
By referencing the Cointext website, users in the Ukraine, Italy, Argentina, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, United States, Netherlands, Sweden, Puerto Rico, and other countries can locate their access number to use the service. In order to get a wallet, users simply text the word “receive” to the access number to get a fresh BCH address. Cointext uses a variety of other text commands to send funds to another address, and another command to read the wallet’s balance as well.
BCH proponents like applications that give people the means to interact with bitcoin cash using any text-enabled phone. This is because concepts like Cointext could bring cryptocurrency accessibility to the 1.7 billion unbanked individuals worldwide. African telecom companies have been experimenting with services like Mpesa for years, giving citizens in the region the ability to leverage text-based payments. Because the Cointext service allows individuals to send and receive BCH onchain via SMS, it operates in the same manner as Mpesa. In the African continent, however, the Cointext service only supports South Africa right now. Cointext has the most presence in regions throughout Europe, the U.S., and South America.
By Jamie Redman
