UK-based blockchain company nChain announced on Tuesday it closed deal terms to acquire a majority stake in HandCash, a Bitcoin Cash mobile wallet that uses near field communication (NFC) technology to make it as easy for users to send Bitcoin Cash to someone as if they were handing cash. According to nChain, the deal was made through nChain Group’s investment entity, nChain Reaction Ltd.
nChain reported that HandCash was co-founded in Spain by Alejandro Pascual Agut and Rafael Jiménez Seibane. With NFC technology, the mobile application allows mobile wallets to complete instant transfer of Bitcoin Cash funds with each other through “contactless” means once users’ mobile devices are in close proximity to each other (similar to contactless credit card and Apple Pay functionality). HandCash co-founder, Alex Agut, stated:
“Bitcoin was conceived to be peer-to-peer electronic cash. We wondered why Bitcoin was not being used like cash. That gave us the idea to create a wallet application that allows you to send Bitcoin in a way that resembles handing someone cash, by merely placing a sender’s mobile device close to the recipient’s device. That’s why we named our project HandCash. We also knew the application could only work on Bitcoin Cash, with its low fees and instant confirmations.”
nChain Group CEO, Jimmy Nguyen, also commented:
“For Bitcoin Cash to grow, user interfaces need to become better and easier to use. We are impressed with HandCash and its vision for simplifying the Bitcoin Cash transaction process to a contactless approach. nChain is thrilled to support HandCash on its journey to make Bitcoin Cash wallets and payment systems easy to use around the world, and to ignite global adoption of Bitcoin Cash.”
nChain added the deal with HandCash follows just days after the May 15, 2018 protocol upgrade for the Bitcoin Cash network.