BitPay
BitPay is a Bitcoin company in the Stablecoins & Payments category, founded in 2011 by Tony Gallippi, Stephen Pair.
The Idea
Bitcoin payment processing for merchants, the 'PayPal for Bitcoin.' Let businesses accept BTC and receive fiat settlements, removing volatility risk for merchants.
Early Traction
BitPay rode the 2013 bull market wave, signing up thousands of merchants. In May 2014 it raised a record $30M Series A led by Index Ventures at a $160M valuation, the largest Bitcoin funding round to that point, with Richard Branson and Yahoo's Jerry Yang among the backers, a huge signal for the payments thesis.
Peak Stats
Signed deals with Microsoft, Newegg, and the Sacramento Kings.
Status Today
Still operating today and focused on Bitcoin and digital asset payment infrastructure, processing more than $4B in digital asset payments in 2024 as spenders returned during the bull market, with stablecoins a growing share of volume.
Why It Matters
BitPay proved the payments use case could attract real VC money and merchants matched with the original vision of Bitcoin. However, Bitcoin payments have not taken off as much as some would have forecasted today, and most digital asset payments have shifted attention to stablecoins.