Not content to hop on just one major trend by going public through a special-purpose acquisition company, WeWork is jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon.
The coworking giant announced on Tuesday that it will start accepting membership fees paid in bitcoin, ethereum and certain other cryptocurrencies, Commercial Observer reports. WeWork will hold those cryptocurrencies and use them to pay rent and vendor fees where it can.
In its announcement, WeWork also included USD Coin and Paxos as accepted cryptocurrencies, while leaving the door open for still others to be accepted. WeWork will use the service BitPay to facilitate its cryptocurrency transactions.
Coinbase, the cryptocurrency trading platform that recently went public, will be the first member to pay its fees using cryptocurrency, WeWork announced. Coinbase's membership at WeWork appears to be in lieu of a traditional headquarters, as its IPO filing referred to the company as fully remote.
"As our member base continues to grow in the fintech sector, so will our ability to adapt to their needs and service a new economy," WeWork CEO Sandeep Mathrani said in a statement.
WeWork is in the process of formalizing its merger with BowX Acquisition Corp., a SPAC founded and chaired by Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé. Though not as heavily regulated as a traditional IPO, WeWork's merger will still be under scrutiny from the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Though much discussed, cryptocurrency has not seen much use as payment at the level of commercial real estate. Coinbase's IPO could signal a growing legitimacy for the blockchain-powered economy.
