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About BitPay
BitPay is a cryptocurrency payment provider founded in 2011, offering two core services: merchant payment processing and a self-custodial wallet. Merchants can accept crypto payments and settle in fiat or stablecoins, while consumers can store, buy, sell, and spend digital assets through the wallet app.
Its main competitive edge lies in regulatory compliance. In July 2026, BitPay obtained a MiCA license from the Dutch regulator AFM, allowing it to operate across all 27 EU member states under a single framework. This removes the need for separate national licenses and makes BitPay one of the few fully licensed crypto payment platforms in Europe. The company also holds money transmitter licenses in multiple US states.
BitPay addresses clear market pain points in cross-border payments: traditional wire transfers involve intermediary banks, take 2–4 business days, and incur hidden FX spreads and processing fees. BitPay replaces this with blockchain-based settlement in minutes at a flat 1% fee, with stablecoin options (USDC, USDT) eliminating volatility concerns. For merchants, it also solves the problem of crypto price volatility by offering instant fiat conversion.
In the past six months (February–August 2026), BitPay has made notable progress: (1) It integrated XRP into its self-custodial wallet, allowing users in supported regions to buy, sell, swap, send, receive, and spend XRP while maintaining control of private keys. (2) Stablecoins now account for 40% of BitPay's total transaction volume, up from a small fraction in 2019, reflecting growing enterprise adoption. (3) The MiCA license positions BitPay to expand its European operations, with plans to further invest in the region. (4) The company launched a payments cost calculator tool that lets businesses compare crypto acceptance vs. traditional card processing fees.
One negative development worth noting: BitPay's 1% transaction fee plus network gas costs makes it less competitive for high-frequency, low-value payments compared to newer rivals like Coinbase Commerce, which support more tokens and offer T+0 settlement. Its market share in the US has reportedly declined from 35% toward 20% as competition intensifies.
BitPay, founded in 2011, is one of the earliest cryptocurrency payment processors, enabling businesses to accept and settle crypto payments. In 2021, it reached a $507,375 settlement with the U.S. Treasury's OFAC over apparent sanctions violations, highlighting early compliance challenges. A milestone came in 2026 when BitPay's European subsidiary, BitPay B.V., secured a MiCA authorization from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets, becoming a licensed crypto-asset service provider across the EU. This allows BitPay to offer regulated crypto payment acceptance, stablecoin payments, and cross-border payout services throughout the European Union, marking a significant step toward mainstream adoption and regulatory clarity.
In the past six months, BitPay achieved several milestones. In July 2026, its European subsidiary BitPay B.V. received MiCA authorization from the Dutch AFM, becoming a compliant crypto-asset service provider in the EU, offering payment processing, cross-border payments, and buy/sell/swap services across 27 member states. In June, the company celebrated its 15th anniversary, disclosing over 900,000 crypto payments processed, up 12% year-over-year; stablecoin payment volume grew 50%, accounting for nearly half of total payment volume, reflecting the industry shift toward stablecoin settlement. Additionally, BitPay continues to expand its global regulatory footprint, including money transmitter licenses in multiple U.S. states.
Regarding future development priorities, the company emphasizes continued investment in European operations and regulated payment infrastructure, deepening strategic partnerships, and advancing the practicality and accessibility of cryptocurrency in commerce, consumer finance, stablecoin payments, and cross-border transactions. With MiCA fully enforced, BitPay plans to leverage the unified regulatory framework to expand merchant and partner adoption of crypto payments, stablecoin-denominated payments, and cross-border settlement, while maintaining its self-custody wallet model to ensure user asset control. The company also aims to support emerging use cases such as stablecoin payouts, cross-border remittances, and business payments, building global compliant infrastructure to move crypto payments from experiment to everyday utility.
Stephen Pair (Co-founder & CEO, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-pair-9a332b9/, Twitter: https://x.com/spair)
Tony Gallippi (Co-founder, Twitter: https://x.com/tonygallippi)