CoinVoice recently learned that according to Cointelegraph, Bitcoin mining company Marathon Digital said at the Bitcoin 2024 conference that cross-border Bitcoin payments are its primary development goal. Julian Duran, head of Marathon sidechain products, revealed that the company is seeking to work with blockchain developers to build a Bitcoin Layer-2 solution to accelerate cross-border BTC payments. He pointed out that in emerging markets, the average cost of cross-border remittances is 8% to 10% of the transaction amount, and settlement time usually takes three to four days, while Bitcoin transactions are usually settled within 10 minutes, and Layer-2 solutions are even faster.
In addition, Duran stressed that the success of any payment solution requires strict compliance with regulatory requirements, although this may increase costs. In emerging markets, regulatory approval is usually faster and cheaper because local governments and regulators want better cross-border payment solutions. In addition to payments, Marathon is also focusing on real-world asset tokenization plans, including tokenizing whiskey barrels in the United States and working with a platform to protect French castles.
Currently, Marathon is one of the largest corporate holders of Bitcoin, holding approximately 20,000 Bitcoins, worth more than $1 billion, and purchased approximately $100 million of Bitcoin in July alone. [Original link]
