Prev.
Listed on the Nasdaq, Metromile is the latest company to bet on Bitcoin with a planned $10 million purchase. Its policyholders will also be able to pay in BTC.
Bitcoin in business is becoming even more democratic. And once again, it is the technology players who are proving to be the most fond of cryptocurrencies. Online insurer Metromile is joining the list.
The Nasdaq-listed company announced a Q2 purchase of $10 million in Bitcoin. Unlike companies like Square or Tesla, however, it is not investing its cash to hedge against inflation.
These bitcoins will indeed allow Metromile to offer its policyholders a new payment method. The company will soon offer them the possibility to pay their insurance in BTC, but also to be compensated in crypto for their claims.
A small revolution in the world of insurance. And Metromile does not fail to point this out. Thus, it states that it will be the “first insurance company to accept premiums and pay claims in crypto-currencies. “
The company is simply taking note of the democratization of cryptocurrencies and their growing share of consumer assets. An observation already made by major retailers, such as Starbucks.
“Metromile gives drivers control over how they want to pay for their insurance. We started by giving drivers the opportunity to save 47% per year by paying per mile. Now we want to give them the flexibility to pay and be paid the way they want,” justifies Dan Preston, Metromile’s CEO.
But like other insurers, the Californian is also interested in the opportunities offered by the blockchain. Its leader insists in particular on the potential of transformation of this technology, especially in the field of finance.
If Metromile does not choose to invest its cash in Bitcoin for the moment, another company has jumped in. That was during the first quarter of the year. The Argentine e-commerce giant Mercado Libre thus invested $7.8 million in cash in BTC.
“As part of our cash strategy, this quarter we purchased $7.8 million in bitcoins, a digital asset that we present in our indefinite-lived intangible assets,” the company tells the SEC.
This purchase is not Mercado Libre’s first crypto initiative. In April, it opened the possibility on its marketplace to buy real estate in Bitcoin. Its CEO and founder has also been a BTC investor since 2013.