BitPay Integrates Bitcoin Payments with New U.S. Retailer
Bitcoin payment processor BitPay announces integration with additional U.S. retailer, expanding Bitcoin payment acceptance despite ongoing usability challenges.
On March 22, 2018, BitPay announced integration with a new U.S. retailer that would begin accepting Bitcoin payments through BitPay's payment processing platform. The integration represented continued incremental progress in Bitcoin merchant adoption, though the practical impact remained limited as Bitcoin payment volumes stayed minimal compared to traditional payment methods.
BitPay's business model addressed some of Bitcoin's payment challenges by providing infrastructure that allowed merchants to accept Bitcoin without exposure to cryptocurrency volatility or technical complexity. When customers paid with Bitcoin, BitPay immediately converted the cryptocurrency to dollars and deposited fiat currency in merchants' bank accounts, subtracting a processing fee.
This arrangement enabled merchants to accept Bitcoin as a payment option without needing to manage cryptocurrency holdings, understand blockchain technology, or worry about Bitcoin's price fluctuations. The new retailer integration came during a difficult period for Bitcoin payments: high fees and slow confirmations had damaged Bitcoin's reputation as transaction currency, and several major merchants had discontinued Bitcoin acceptance after experimenting with it.
However, BitPay's continued ability to sign new merchants demonstrated that some businesses still saw value in offering Bitcoin payment options, whether for marketing benefits, attracting cryptocurrency enthusiast customers, or genuine belief in Bitcoin's long-term potential. For Bitcoin adoption metrics, merchant integrations through processors like BitPay represented visible progress even if actual transaction volumes remained modest.
The integrations also kept Bitcoin present in commerce discussions and preserved infrastructure that could scale if Bitcoin's payment usability improved through Lightning Network or other developments.However, the reality that most Bitcoin-accepting merchants relied on immediate conversion to fiat suggested Bitcoin functioned more as a payment rail than as actual money circulating in commerce.