BitPay, which is a leading U.S. digital currency payment processor, just announced that it now accepts stablecoins. This means that member merchants can settle transactions in either Gemini Dollars or Circle USD Coins, which are both cryptocurrencies tied the U.S. dollar. Atlanta-based BitPay began operations in 2011, and it offers cryptocurrency payments services to around 20,000 businesses worldwide. Prior to today's announcement, its settlments were limited to common fiat currencies, Bitcoin or Bitcoin Cash. The two stablecoins are similar in that they are Ethereum-based coins issued by popular cryptocurrency exchanges (Gemini and Circle) and that the value of both are set to exactly $1. By doing this, these coins avoid the price volatility that plagues other cryptocurrencies. In its announcement, BitPay indicated that member merchants can settle stablecoin transactions anywhere in the world, and that they can do so even if they do not have a bank account. BitPay further indicated that transactions will settle within 24 hours and that they can be initiated with as little as 20 Gemini Dollars or 20 Circle USD Coins. Sonny Singh, who is BitPay's Chief Commercial Officer, made news in September when he said that digital currency markets were on the cusp of a new stage of their development, but that a "catalyst" or a "defining moment" was needed to take it over this cusp. He further predicted that the value of alternative cryptocurrencies would never again reach previous levels. Though at the same time he predicted that Bitcoin would rebound. BitPay was not the only one today making stablecoin-related news. The OKEx exchange announced that, starting at 5:00 p.m. Hong Kong time, they would accept deposits for TrueUSD, Circle USD Coins, Gemini Dollars and Paxos Standard Tokens, and that they would be listing a number of cryptocurrency pairings with these coins. They also said that, starting on October 16, they would allow withdrawals in these coins. Also, stablecoin Tether experienced a wild ride in trading today. For a time it was trading at record lows based on fears that the coin may not be as stable as they profess. But it finished the day trading at $0.98.