BitPay is a cryptocurrency payment service provider based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in May 2011 by Tony Gallippi and Stephen Pair. BitPay offers businesses cryptocurrency payment processing options and enables individuals to purchase more than 16 cryptocurrencies. It also provides services like a payment gateway, a crypto wallet, and BitPay cards, which allow users to convert crypto into fiat currency. With low transaction fees and global reach, BitPay simplifies crypto payments for businesses and consumers, promoting cryptocurrency adoption in everyday commerce.

What is BitPay?

BitPay is a preeminent entity in blockchain payments, enabling customers to accept cryptocurrency transactions. Accepting Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies attracts new crypto clients who expend twice as much as those using credit cards. Bitpay enables customers to purchase, store, exchange, and utilize cryptocurrencies within a single application. They can convert Bitcoin into dollars using the BitPay cryptocurrency debit card. Bitpay is accessible to both individuals and businesses and offers numerous benefits.

BitPay safeguards businesses against the price volatility of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Businesses obtain the total amount they charge in dollars or euros, less a processing fee. Bitpay initially focused on processing Bitcoin payments but has since expanded to enable retailers to accept several other cryptocurrencies.

BitPay enables individuals to purchase more than 16 cryptocurrencies. Alongside blue-chip cryptocurrencies, users may acquire meme coins such as ApeCoin and Shiba Inu, as well as stablecoins, including USD Coin, Tether, and Binance USD, which can be stored in the Bitpay Wallet—a non-custodial cryptocurrency wallet that grants users sole access to their private keys and assets.

Background of BitPay

Bitpay was established in 2011 by Stephen Pair and Tony Gallippi to offer mobile checkout solutions for businesses seeking to accept bitcoins. Pair currently holds the position of CEO, and Gallippi serves as executive chairman. The executive team comprises Chief Marketing Officer Bill Zielke, Chief Operating Officer Jim Lester, Chief Financial Officer Jagruti Solanki, and Chief Technology Officer Justin Langston. In January 2013, BitPay announced the relocation of its headquarters from Orlando, Florida, to Atlanta, Georgia. The action was taken after the company said it had obtained $510,000 in startup funding.

In May 2013, BitPay disclosed that the company had secured $2 million from the Founders Fund. In September 2013, the company declared it had achieved the milestone of 10,000 merchants. Gallippi asserted that since the company’s inception, they had processed more than $34 million, corresponding to 270,830 bitcoins based on the Bitcoin Price Index at that time.

By November 2011, the company had engaged approximately 100 merchants. By October 2012, the figure had increased to 1,100 and reached an astonishing 10,000 by September 2013. Bitpay is the preeminent cryptocurrency payment processor, facilitating 60,204 transactions in the past 30 days and 334,486 transactions over the preceding six months.

Features of BitPay

BitPay is a platform enabling users to accept and handle cryptocurrency, with features like:

• BitPay Security Protocols: To enhance security, BitPay ensures that buyers receiving refunds of any amount must register for the personal dashboard to prevent fraud. Depending on local legislation, buyers may need to register for a BitPay ID for transactions of any size. A Social Security Number or passport number for U.S. citizens, a photo of an acceptable photo ID, and a selfie are needed for identity verification. Also, the BitPay Dashboard uses Onfido’s identity verification services. During verification, Onfido collects a photo or video of the user’s face and an identity card image. After authenticating the identity document, Onfido compares the features of the photo or video’s face to those of the document.
• Crypto Support: BitPay facilitates transactions for over 100 cryptocurrencies, encompassing Bitcoin and Lightning Network payments.
• Wallet management: BitPay enables customers to oversee their digital assets and exchange cryptocurrencies for fiat currency.
• Payment settlement: BitPay can disburse funds through local bank transfers, a fixed exchange rate, or conversion into the user’s currency.
• Code Libraries: BitPay’s code libraries enable developers to concentrate on payment processing and e-commerce integration.
• Coinbase Integration: BitPay enables customers to use their Coinbase wallets directly using the BitPay application.

Benefits of BitPay

BitPay offers several benefits, including making secure cryptocurrency payments, support for multiple digital assets, and seamless crypto-to-fiat conversions. It provides tools for both individuals and businesses.

Business/Merchant

BitPay provides several advantages to enterprises by facilitating the global acceptance of cryptocurrency payments. Businesses can concentrate on other challenging aspects without concern for payment solutions. BitPay enables businesses to accept payments in Bitcoin and over 100 additional cryptocurrencies, attract new clientele, and circumvent the expenses associated with excessive fees and chargebacks. From initiation to conclusion, BitPay seeks to facilitate the acceptance of cryptocurrency payments.

BitPay offers payment buttons, a hosted checkout solution, and embeddable invoices for company websites. BitPay is compatible with numerous plugins and integrations. BitPay’s integrations facilitate blockchain payments’ swift and dependable acceptance, providing diverse options like e-commerce plugins, code libraries, direct API implementation, and website payment buttons. Merchants may opt for BitPay’s retail payment solutions with conventional point-of-sale systems to facilitate a more expedient and seamless checkout experience for consumers and staff during in-store transactions.

BitPay also protects businesses against the price fluctuations of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Merchants receive all their charges in dollars or euros, less a nominal processing fee. BitPay provides straightforward pricing for all enterprises, daily fiat settlements directly to merchant bank accounts, a premier KYC and compliance program, unlimited monthly transactions, and the elimination of fraud chargebacks.

Individual

BitPay enables individuals to settle bills for various expenses, including credit cards and mortgages, utilizing the convenience and seamless experience of blockchain payments through the BitPay application or website. The BitPay software enables users to purchase, store, exchange, and operate cryptocurrency holdings. The application allows users to securely store assets using multi-signature and optional key encryption within BitPay’s non-custodial wallet, facilitating effortless asset management across several platforms. Individuals can also implement BitPay’s multi-factor security by employing multi-factor wallets to distribute payment authorization over 12 devices or trusted co-payers for improved security.

Individuals can discover competitive pricing for Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, XRP, ApeCoin, and all significant stablecoins, purchase using a credit card or existing funds, and effortlessly exchange coins at favorable rates within the program. BitPay allows users to spend cryptocurrencies immediately at over 250 businesses and retailers that accept cryptocurrency through its new browser plugin. Individuals can use cryptocurrency to purchase gift cards for their preferred companies, including Hotels.com, Mastercard, etc. Use the BitPay application or extension to reload gift cards or transfer funds to friends and family.

Integration of BitPay with Coinbase

BitPay is a cryptocurrency payment processing platform enabling users to purchase, store, exchange, and utilize cryptocurrencies. It also allows users to transfer funds to bank accounts across several nations. Coinbase is a Bitcoin exchange platform compatible with the BitPay application. Due to Coinbase’s provision of this exchange service, BitPay cannot extend direct support for Coinbase’s offerings. Upon Coinbase’s approval of the user account, users may connect their BitPay application to their Coinbase account with the Coinbase OAuth feature. BitPay Coinbase OAuth is a functionality that enables users to link their Coinbase account to the BitPay application, facilitating the sending and receiving of transactions and the payment of BitPay invoices through Coinbase.

Connecting Coinbase Account to BitPay App

The following outlines the procedure for users to link their Coinbase account to the BitPay application:

• Launch the BitPay application.
• Select the gear icon in the screen’s lower right corner.
• Select Coinbase under the Exchanges category.
• Click “Show” to activate it if it is deactivated.
• Select the home icon at the screen’s bottom left corner.
• Select the Services option from the home menu, followed by the Coinbase button on the subsequent page.
• Log into Coinbase according to the instructions on the webpage and any associated emails regarding setup, two-factor authentication, or device authorization.
• After signing in and authorizing the connection with the Coinbase account in the BitPay Wallet, users can use this integration to buy and sell cryptocurrencies directly through the BitPay Wallet app.

BitPay’s Services

BitPay provides a variety of services, including:

BitPay Card

The BitPay Card is a prepaid Mastercard introduced in June 2020, enabling users to rapidly change cryptocurrency into fiat currency. BitPay prepaid debit cards offer a practical means for utilizing digital currency in routine transactions, encompassing offline payments. The BitPay card functions identically to a standard debit card: it may be used for transactions in physical and online retailers and for cash withdrawals from ATMs, among other uses. The BitPay Card can be used for online transactions and ATM withdrawals.

The BitPay card enables the utilization of cryptocurrency by changing it into fiat currency, bridging the divide between tangible and digital currencies. The BitPay Card is a reloadable prepaid card rather than a credit card. Users utilize their wallets to fund their BitPay cards with accepted cryptocurrencies. BitPay converts these coins to cash based on their market value when loading the card. The funds are “stored” on the card through an account ledger system, enabling users to access them as required.

Regrettably, Bitpay Card is not accepting new users as the firm seeks to overhaul the product. The card is exclusively available to residents of the United States. No transaction fees apply when using the card for payments within the U.S. When traveling abroad, users will incur a 3% fee for currency conversion. A fee of $2.50 applies to ATM or cash-back withdrawals both domestically and internationally.

Furthermore, a dormancy fee of $5.00 will be incurred after 90 days of inactivity. Users’ card balances will not be adversely affected by dormancy fees. If the user owns $2.00 in their BitPay card account and is subject to the dormancy fee, their account will be charged only $2.00 rather than the entire $5.00. Furthermore, you will not incur the dormancy fee balance after the user reloads funds onto the card.

BitPay Wallet

The BitPay Wallet is self-custodial, and users’ crypto assets are safeguarded by securing or documenting their seed or 12-word recovery phrase. BitPay neither retains users’ recovery phrases nor has access to your funds.

To retrieve a wallet in case of device damage, loss, theft, or app uninstallation, users must utilize the 12-word recovery phrase provided during wallet creation. Without this recovery phrase, BitPay cannot retrieve your cash.

To establish a BitPay wallet, download the BitPay application:

• Apple App Store (iOS)
• Google Play Store for Android
• Microsoft Store for Windows
• Mac App Store
• Snap Store (Linux Operating System)

After downloading the BitPay app, users must launch the application and adhere to the wizard upon installation to establish their wallet. Before utilizing the wallet, users must confirm that they have backed up or documented their 12-word recovery phrase. The 12-word recovery phrase is essential for securing users’ wallets, making this step critically crucial.

To generate a new wallet key and wallet, users must

• Launch the BitPay application and choose to create, import, or join a shared wallet.
• Choose New Key
• Choose the currencies or tokens you wish to incorporate.
• Choose Add Wallet
• Safeguard your key by documenting and safeguarding your 12-word recovery phrase.

To establish a wallet using an existing key, users must:

• Launch the BitPay application and choose the key to which you wish to create a new wallet.
• Scroll down to “+ Add Wallet.”
• Choose Basic Wallet (single signer) or Multisig Wallet (many signers).
• Choose the currencies or tokens you wish to include.
• Choose Add Wallet.

BitPay Browser Extension

BitPay’s browser extension allows cryptocurrency users to transact with multiple prominent companies across diverse industries. This extension enables users to utilize their cryptocurrency holdings effortlessly without requiring intricate conversions or transfers.

BitPay’s browser extension offers access to an extensive network of businesses accepting cryptocurrency payments for electronics, apparel, travel supplies, and food delivery. The extension links users to various companies, from prominent stores to specialized boutiques, enabling them to utilize their digital assets to acquire a broad spectrum of items and services.

The extension improves the shopping experience by offering an efficient checkout procedure, allowing users to finalize transactions with minimal clicks. BitPay presently accommodates the United States, Canada, Brazil, Japan, India, the United Kingdom, and European Union nations, and its platforms cater to international clientele. The BitPay browser extension is compatible with Chrome, Firefox, Brave, and Opera.

Conclusion

BitPay is a cryptocurrency wallet that has existed for over a decade. It is among the initial systems created for managing digital assets, encompassing storage, investment, and the facilitation of transfers. Initially developed for Bitcoin, BitPay is among the most prominent cryptocurrency systems, processing over 50,000 transactions monthly and accommodating diverse currencies.