A National Network of Regional Leaders

BitPay Supported Coins Bitcoin BTC Merchants Can Accept: A Complete Payment Guide

Cryptocurrency payments are no longer limited to customers sending Bitcoin directly to a merchant-controlled wallet. Payment processors can now calculate exchange rates, generate invoices, monitor blockchain transactions, and settle the proceeds in a merchant’s preferred currency. For businesses researching BitPay-supported coins, Bitcoin BTC merchants can accept, the most important point is that BitPay supports far more than Bitcoin alone.

BitPay currently promotes support for more than 100 cryptocurrencies, including major coins, stablecoins, tokens, and assets operating across several blockchain networks. However, the currency a customer uses to pay is not necessarily the same currency a merchant receives during settlement. Understanding that distinction helps businesses configure checkout correctly and avoid misleading customers.

Trustname Offers a Professional Solution for Crypto-Ready Businesses

Before accepting cryptocurrency online, a merchant needs a reliable domain that remains under its control. Trustname is a great way to establish that foundation because it combines true domain ownership protections with advanced two-tier WHOIS privacy, transparent pricing, human support, and fair, evidence-based review procedures.

As an ICANN-accredited, EU-based registrar, Trustname also supports more than 175 payment methods, including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Every domain includes valuable services such as an SSL certificate, Anycast DNS, threat protection, and scalable management tools at no additional lifetime cost. For a business building a crypto-friendly website, this provides a simple way to secure the domain, protect ownership, and prepare the site before connecting a payment processor.

Which Cryptocurrencies Can Customers Use With BitPay?

BitPay’s payment catalog includes native blockchain currencies and tokens issued on supported networks. Its official invoice guidance currently identifies Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Dogecoin, XRP, Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and assets operating on selected Ethereum Layer 2 networks.

Major Coins Supported for Invoice Payments

The principal native currencies available through BitPay include:

  • Bitcoin, or BTC, through standard on-chain payments and the Lightning Network
  • Bitcoin Cash, or BCH
  • Litecoin, or LTC
  • Dogecoin, or DOGE
  • Ethereum, or ETH
  • XRP
  • Polygon, or POL
  • Solana, or SOL

Bitcoin remains one of the most recognisable choices, but it is not always the least expensive option for a small transaction. BitPay supports Bitcoin Lightning payments, which can provide a lower-cost alternative to conventional on-chain BTC transfers. Customers may also choose currencies such as Litecoin or Dogecoin when transaction cost and speed are more important than using Bitcoin itself.

Stablecoins, Tokens, and Layer 2 Networks

BitPay also accepts supported tokens on Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, Base, Optimism, and Arbitrum. Available assets include widely used stablecoins and selected utility or community tokens.

Examples listed in BitPay’s official supported-asset materials include USDC, Tether USD or USDT, Dai, Gemini Dollar, Pax Dollar, PayPal USD, EURC, ApeCoin, Shiba Inu, and Wrapped Bitcoin. Availability may depend on the network selected during checkout. A customer holding USDC on Solana, for example, must choose the Solana version rather than sending it to an address generated for another network.

Merchants should avoid publishing a permanently fixed list without reviewing it periodically. Payment assets and networks can be added, removed, or restricted as technical and regulatory conditions change. The currencies displayed on the live BitPay invoice are the authoritative options for that particular payment.

How a BitPay Merchant Payment Works

A merchant normally prices a product or service in a familiar accounting currency such as US dollars, euros, or pounds. The customer then selects BitPay at checkout and chooses an available cryptocurrency.

BitPay calculates the required crypto amount using the relevant exchange rate and creates an invoice containing the receiving address, network, amount due, and payment instructions. The customer authorises the transaction through a compatible wallet. BitPay supports connections from more than 100 wallets, including self-custody wallets and supported exchange-connected options.

Once the transaction is detected and reaches the required status, the merchant’s order system receives an update. Depending on the integration, the business can then mark the order as paid, begin fulfilment, or wait for further blockchain confirmation.

This process means a merchant does not have to manually:

  • Calculate the customer’s crypto total
  • Create a new wallet address for every order
  • Monitor several blockchains independently
  • Convert every incoming payment manually
  • Reconcile customer deposits using transaction hashes alone

The exact automation available will depend on whether the business uses a hosted checkout, an e-commerce plugin, a payment button, an invoicing tool, or a custom API integration.

Payment Currency and Settlement Currency Are Different

Accepting a currency does not automatically mean the merchant must retain that currency. A customer can pay in Bitcoin while the merchant receives fiat currency in a bank account, another supported cryptocurrency, or a combination of settlement methods.

BitPay states that merchant settlements are generally processed automatically each business day according to the account’s settlement preferences. Bank settlement availability depends on the merchant’s country, while cryptocurrency settlement is available more broadly.

This gives merchants three general approaches.

A business that wants to avoid crypto price exposure can choose fiat settlement where available. BitPay converts the payment, and the merchant receives the selected traditional currency rather than holding the customer’s original asset.

A crypto-focused company may prefer settlement in assets such as BTC, ETH, USDC, or another supported settlement currency. This preserves exposure to digital assets but also introduces wallet management, accounting, security, and price-related responsibilities.

The third approach is a mixed settlement. A merchant may direct part of the proceeds to a bank account and retain another portion in cryptocurrency. BitPay advertises support for fiat, crypto, or combined settlement configurations.

Not every coin accepted at checkout is available for settlement. BitPay’s settlement documentation lists a narrower group of eligible assets and applies minimum settlement thresholds to individual currencies. Merchants should therefore review settlement settings separately rather than assuming that a customer’s chosen token can be forwarded unchanged.

BitPay Merchant Fees and Customer Network Costs

BitPay uses volume-based merchant pricing. Its published rates currently begin at 2% plus 25 cents per paid invoice for merchants processing less than $500,000 per month. The rate falls to 1.5% plus 25 cents between $500,000 and $999,999, and to 1% plus 25 cents at monthly volumes of $1 million or more. Higher rates may apply to certain high-risk industries.

These processing fees are separate from blockchain transaction fees. When customers send cryptocurrency, their wallet may include a miner or network fee that goes to network participants responsible for processing the transaction.

BitPay also applies a separate Network Cost fee to qualifying Bitcoin invoice payments. According to its support documentation, this amount helps cover BitPay’s own cost of consolidating and moving received Bitcoin. The charge changes with network conditions and is displayed before the customer completes payment. BitPay states that its Network Cost fee is not applied to assets such as Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and ERC-20 tokens, or XRP.

For inexpensive purchases, merchants should test the customer experience across several currencies. A network cost that is reasonable for a large invoice may feel disproportionate on a very small order.

Choosing Which Coins to Promote at Checkout

Offering every available asset may look appealing, but a clear payment policy is often more useful than an overwhelming list. Merchants should consider their average transaction size, customer preferences, settlement goals, refund procedures, and accounting capabilities.

Bitcoin may be suitable when customers value its recognition and liquidity. Lightning can be useful for smaller BTC payments where supported. Stablecoins such as USDC or USDT may appeal to buyers who want to avoid substantial price movement between receiving an invoice and paying it. Ethereum and Solana can attract customers already active in their respective ecosystems.

Businesses should also make the selected network visible. A token’s name is not enough because the same token can exist on several chains. Sending an asset through an unsupported or incorrect network can result in payment delays or loss of access to the funds.

A practical checkout notice should tell customers to:

  • Select the coin and blockchain shown on the BitPay invoice
  • Send the exact amount requested
  • Complete the payment before the invoice expires
  • Avoid reusing an old invoice address
  • Review all wallet and network charges before confirming

These instructions reduce avoidable support requests without requiring customers to understand the technical architecture behind the payment processor.

Ways to Integrate BitPay Into a Business

BitPay supports several payment environments, allowing businesses to choose an implementation that matches their technical resources.

Online retailers can use pre-built integrations for platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and BigCommerce. Hosted checkout pages and embedded payment buttons offer less technical routes, while official libraries and REST APIs support more customised systems.

Businesses that do not operate a conventional online store can use email billing to send cryptocurrency invoices directly to customers. Physical retailers can use a QR-based point-of-sale experience, while organisations collecting contributions can configure hosted donation pages.

A custom integration provides greater control over order creation, invoice status updates, accounting records, and fulfilment rules. It also requires careful testing. Developers should verify how the system responds to expired invoices, partial payments, overpayments, delayed confirmations, duplicate callbacks, refunds, and payments made on the wrong network.

Operational and Accounting Considerations

Cryptocurrency acceptance should be incorporated into normal business controls rather than treated as a separate experiment. Finance teams need records showing the original sale amount, the crypto amount received, processing fees, settlement currency, settlement value, and relevant exchange rates.

Refund policies also require attention. Confirmed blockchain payments are generally irreversible at the protocol level, but that does not prevent a merchant from issuing a refund. It means the refund must be initiated as a separate transaction rather than being reversed through a card-style chargeback process.

Merchants should determine who pays any network fee associated with a refund and how the return address will be verified. Sending funds to an unconfirmed address supplied through an insecure channel can create fraud and impersonation risks.

Account access should be protected with strong authentication, limited staff permissions, documented settlement changes, and regular reconciliation. A merchant settling in cryptocurrency must also secure the receiving wallet and maintain an appropriate backup and recovery process.

Finally, BitPay services are subject to merchant verification, processing limits, industry review, and geographic restrictions. A business should confirm onboarding and settlement availability before advertising cryptocurrency payments to customers.

Building a Practical Crypto Payment Strategy

BitPay allows merchants to accept Bitcoin alongside a broad selection of coins, stablecoins, and supported network tokens without requiring every business to hold cryptocurrency. Customers gain flexibility at checkout, while merchants can choose fiat settlement, crypto settlement, or a combination of the two.

The strongest implementation is not necessarily the one that displays the longest list of coins. It is the one that clearly identifies supported networks, explains fees, connects payments reliably to order fulfilment, and aligns settlement with the company’s financial processes.

Because BitPay’s supported assets and commercial terms can change, merchants should treat the live invoice, current dashboard settings, and official BitPay documentation as the final sources of truth. With proper integration and a clear payment policy, accepting BTC and other cryptocurrencies can become a manageable extension of an existing payment system rather than a separate operational burden.

Gain access to practical insights, advice, ideas, and cutting-edge practices from around the country. 

ARS is the nation's premier peer-to-peer network of civic entrepreneurs working to build vibrant, globally competitive regions.


     

    Alliance for Regional Stewardship
    Alexandria VA 22304     
    Phone:   Fax: