Zero Hash Tapped for Step’s Teen Crypto Platform

Zero Hash has been selected to help operate a cryptocurrency product for Step, a financial platform targeting “the next generation.”

A press release noted that this product will allow both teens under 18 and young adults to buy, sell, hold and receive cryptocurrency, and they’ll also be able to invest and trade crypto and stocks as well. The intended effect is to broaden the scope of who gets to use crypto.

Zero Hash will use its digital assets infrastructure to provide customers with access to a library with over 50 cryptocurrency tokens, along with cryptocurrency addresses to deposit and withdraw on-chain.

In addition, customers will be able to buy non-fungible tokens (NFTs) over it.

Edward Woodford, the CEO of Zero Hash, told PYMNTS that the partnership was interesting because Step’s product is about “financial education.” He said there was more adoption going on in general, positing that the world was moving in a direction more friendly to cryptocurrency in general.

Woodford said he thought every neobank in the next 12 to 18 months would be offering digital assets. He added that he thought the burgeoning popularity of the cryptocurrencies would have an effect of making it so the kinds of services companies offer would have to be updated, too.

“I think everybody knows that crypto is here, but what I think is important is that the sophistication of the product that our partners are demanding has increased, or the amount of utilization of our existing products suite has increased dramatically over the last 12 months,” he said.

He added that one of the main areas of growth would likely be NFTs in the metaverse.

“As groups become increasingly bullish, I think for the first time they’re realizing that they need a bridge to Web3. And for the first time they view crypto as a necessary requirement, as opposed to kind of maybe an optional requirement, right?”

PYMNTS wrote about Woodford’s prior comments on cryptocurrencies, in which he said the company could see cryptocurrencies gaining momentum as a payment option, with more Americans being interested in using them.

See also: With Product Debuts, Crypto Industry Puts Banks in its Crosshairs